THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


HISTORY 


UNITED      STATES 
N°.  VI. 

OR, 

• 

UNCLE    PHILIP'S 

CONVERSATIONS   WITH   THE   CHILDREN   ABOUT 

NEW-HAMPSHIRE. 

IN    TWO     VOLUMES. 

VOL.    II. 


NEW    YORK: 

HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  PUBLISHERS, 

F BAN  KLIN  SQUARE. 
1864. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1840,  by 

HARPER  &  BROTHERS, 
In  the  Clerk's  Oftce  of  the  Southern  District  of  New-York. 


CONTENTS 

OF 

THE   SECOND    VOLUME. 


CONVERSATION  I. 

Uncle  Philip  tells  the  Children  more  about  Governor  Dudley, 
and  the  Indian  War  commonly  called  Queen  Anne's  War — 
Mr.  Shute,  the  successor  of  Mr.  Dudley  as  Governor— Mr. 
Vaughan,  the  Lieutenant-governor — Mr.  Wentworth,  who 
was  made  Lieutenant-governor  in  place  of  Mr.  Vaughan 

Page  9 

CONVERSATION  II. 

Uncle  Philip  tells  the  Children  about  several  of  the  old  Towns 
in  New-Hampshire — Governor  Shute  and  Mr.  Wentworth — 
The  Marquis  De  Vaudreiul  and  Ralle  persuade  the  Indians 
to  fight  the  English — Another  Indian  War,  called  LovewelPs 
War 34 

CONVERSATION  III. 

Untie  Philip  finishes  the  Story  about  LoveweWa  War— Paugus 
— Treaty  of  Peace — Lovewell's  Song 50 

CONVERSATION  IV. 

Uncle  Philip  tells  the  Children  of  what  he  thinks  of  Mr.  Went- 
worth— Talks  about  Mr.  Burnet,  Mr.  Belcher,  and  Mr.  Dun- 
bar,  who  were  sent  to  the  Provinces  to  govern  them— The 
Throat  Distempei  —  Mr.  Belcher  dismissed,  and  Benning 
Wemworth  appointed  Governor  of  New-Hampshire  .  68 

A2 


VI  CONTENTS. 

CONVERSATION  V. 

Uncle  Philip  tells  the  Children  about  Mr.  Wentworth— Cap- 
ture of  Louisburg — Reduction  of  Canada — People  who  are 
particular— Captain  Stevens— Indian  Warfare  .  .  Page  86 

CONVERSATION  VI. 

Uncle  Philip  tells  the  Children  more  of  Governor  Wentworth— 
The  St.  Francis  Tribe  of  Indians  —  Another  War  between 
England  and  France,  which  ended  in  the  reduction  of  Canada 
by  the  English 101 

CONVERSATION  VII. 

Uncle  Philip  tells  the  Children  something  more  about  the  War 
between  the  English  and  French— The  Reduction  of  Canada 
by  the  English  —  The  Burning  of  the  Village  "of  the  St. 
Francis  Tribe  of  Indians,  and  the  Punishment  of  the  Tribe 

118 

CONVERSATION  VIII. 

Uncle  Philip  tells  the  Children  about  the  Disputes  between 
New-Hampshire  and  New-York  concerning  Boundaries  — 
Tells  them  about  the  Stamp  Act,  and  what  the  People  in 
New-Hampshire  said  and  did  about  it— Governor  Wentworth 
resigns,  and  his  Nephew  takes  his  place 129 

CONVERSATION  IX. 

Uncle  Philip  tells  the  Children  about  the  new  Governor,  Mr. 
John  Wentworth — Dartmouth  College  founded — New-Hamp- 
shire divided  into  Counties — Peter  Livius— Troubles  with 
Great  Britain 147 

CONVERSATION  X. 

Uncle  Philip  talks  about  the  gloomy  state  of  Affairs  in  the 
Colony— The  Battle  of  Lexington  in  Massachusetts,  and  th» 
assistance  of  the  New-Hampshire  People — Declaration  of 
American  Independence 163 


CONTENTS.  Vll 

CONVERSATION  XL 

Urcle  Philip  tells  the  Children  about  Mr.  Bartlett,  Mr.  Tlora 
ton,  and  Mr.  Whipple,  the  Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence Page  181 


HISTORY 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE. 


CONVERSATION  I. 

Uncle  Philip  (ells  the  Children  more  about  Governor  Dudley, 
and  the  Indian  War  commonly  called  Queen  Anne's  War- 
Mr.  Shute,  the  successor  of  Mr.  Dudley  as  Governor— Mr. 
Vaughan,  the  Lieutenant-governor — Mr.  Wentworth,  who 
was  made  Lieutenant-governor  in  place  of  Mr.  Vaughan. 

"  WE  will  talk  more  this  morning  about  Mr 
Hilton,  the  brave  man  with  whom  we  parted 
yesterday,  if  it  would  please  you,  children,  to 
hear  of  him." 

"  Yes,  Uncle  Philip,  we  would  like  to  have 
you  tell  us  more  of  him." 

"  You  will  remember  that  the  war  was  still 
going  on.  It  was  in  the  winter  of  the  year  1707 
that  Hilton  made  an  excursion  to  the  east  with 
two  hundred  and  twenty  men.  On  this  occasion 
the  white  men  met  with  more  success  than  usual, 
for  they  found  a  number  of  the  enemy.  I  will 
tell  you  how  they  met  with  this  good  fortune." 
ii.— 2 


10  HISTORY    OF 

"  Yes,  Uncle  Philip,  I  should  like  to  hear." 
"  By  accident,  Hilton  and  his  men  came  upon 
an  Indian  track  near  a  place  called  Black  Point. 
In  following  this,  they  overtook  and  seized  an 
Indian  woman,  who  guided  them  to  a  place 
•where  eighteen  of  their  savage  enemy  lay  asleep. 
Fortunately  for  them,  they  reached  the  spot  just 
before  the  break  of  day,  and  succeeded  in  killing 
seventeen  of  the  Indians." 

"  What  became  of  the  other,  sir  1" 
"He  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  whites  and 
carried  away.  This  action  of  Major  Hilton 
caused  great  rejoicing  in  New-Hampshire.  You 
know  that  it  was  common,  in  the  time  of  which 
we  are  speaking,  for  the  white  men  to  go  out  in 
search  of  the  Indians  and  not  find  them.  In- 
deed, very  soon  after  this  success,  the  people 
began  to  take  courage,  and  to  talk  about  attack- 
ing several  places  where  the  French  and  Indians 
lived.  Among  other  places,  they  thought  of 
sending  out  an  expedition  against  Port  Royal." 
"  But,  Uncle  Philip,  it  was  said  that  the  gov- 
ernor was  opposed  to  this.  How  was  this,  sir  ?" 
"  Governor  Dudley  was  now  willing  to  under- 
take this.  Some  said  that  he  wras  ashamed  of 
having  prevented  Colonel  Church  from  attacking 
the  place  before,  and  was  now  determined  that 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  II 

• 

it  should  be  done,  even  if  no  forces  should  come 
from  England.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  governor 
did  all  in  his  power  to  aid  in  getting  ready  for 
the  expedition,  and  in  a  very  short  time  one 
/housand  men  were  ready  to  march  for  Port 
.-loyal." 

"  Did  they  go  out,  sir  ?" 

"  Yes.  They  sailed  in  a  fleet  of  twenty-three 
'-essek,  taking  with  *Lf  rn,  as  usual,  a  number  of 
'  ihde-boats." 

"Uncle  Philip,  MT\/'  use  did  they  make  of 
j  *  whale-boats  ?" 

"They  irjed  them  io  ascend  the  rivers  and 
'mailer  streams,  \ibe>  t  the  water  was  too  shallow 
j  float  their  shipr." 

"  Did  Major  ET.con  go  with  this  expedition  ?" 

"Yes;  he  was  among  the  men,  and  com- 
/Danded  one  of  tfie  regiments.  In  a  few  days 
'hey  all  arrived  before  Port  Royal,  and  began 
'he  attack  by  burning  some  houses.  The  French 
'jirere  very  much  alarmed,  and  I  think  the  place 
might  have  been  destroyed  very  easily.  But  just 
nt  that  time  orders  were  given  that  the  English 
«)ldiers  should  return  home,  and  thus  the  army 
•vas  completely  broken  up." 

"  Pray,  Uncle  Philip,  what  was  the  cause  of 
Ons?" 


12  HISTORY    OF 

• 

"  The  officers  who  had  the  .command  were 
dissatisfied.  Some  thought  that  the  French  fort 
at  Port  Royal  was  too  strong  to  be  reduced. .  If 
they  had  been  harmonious,  each  one  ready  and 
willing  to  do  what  he  could,  I  have  no  doubt  but 
the  work  might  have  been  accomplished. 

"  But,  for  the  want  of  this  harmony,  the  sol- 
diers were  scattered,  and  many  of  them  returned 
home." 

"  How  was  Governor  Dudley  pleased  with 
this  result,  sir  1" 

"  He  was  very  angry  when  these  men  returned, 
and  he  sent  them  back  again.  They  returned 
to  Port  Royal,  and  there  they  fought  a  number 
of  skirmishes  with  the  Indians,  who  tried  to  pre- 
vent their  landing.  They  were  too  few  in  num- 
ber to  succeed  in  their  main  design,  and  Port 
Royal  still  held  out  successfully  against  them. 
The  army  soon  afterward  went  home,  worn 
down  and  discouraged."  9 

"  That  was  unfortunate,  sir." 

"  Yes ;  but  this  was  not  the  worst  part  of  the 
expedition.  While  these  soldiers  were  away 
from  home,  some  of  the  Indians  chose  that  time 
for  attacking  the  towns  in  New-Hampshire,  and 
they  did  a  great  deal  of  mischief.  Exeter  and 
Kingston  suffered  considerably  from  the  enemy ; 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  13 

Kingston  especially,  being  a  new  settlement, 
was  much  exposed.  To  increase  the  difficulties 
and  dangers,  which  were  already  fearful  enough, 
during  this  summer  eight  men  deserted  Kingston 
and  went  to  another  settlement." 

"  That  was  cowardly,  Uncle  Philip."  .„ 

"It  was  certainly  unkind  in  them,  and  they 
deserved  the  treatment  which  they  afterward  re- 
ceived." 

"  What  was  it,  Uncle  Philip  ?" 

"The  remaining  inhabitants  complained  to 
the  governor,  and  he  ordered  these  men  to  be 
arrested  and  tried  as  deserters,  and  to  be  sent 
back  to  the  defence  of  their  settlement,  or  to  do 
military  duty  at  the  fort  as  long  as  it  should 
please  the  governor." 

"  That  was  right,  sir." 

"  The  state  of  the  country  at  this  time  was 
really  distressed.  Some  of  the  best  and  bravest 
men  were  abroad,  while  the  Indians  were  busy 
in  their  mischief  about  the  towns  and  settle- 
ments. The  people  earned  their  bread  at  the 
continual  hazard  of  their  lives,  never  daring  to 
go  abroad  unarmed.  They  did  not  dare  to  ven- 
ture far  from  the  garrisons,  even  to  plough  and 
plant  their  land  ;  while  their  families  were 
crowded  together  in  their  forts  or  block-houses." 

VOL.  u. — B 


14  HISTORY    OF 

"  Would  the  Indians  attack  them  in  the  day- 
time, while  at  their  work  ?" 

"  At  any  time,  my  lad,  when  they  could  find 
a  party  out  of  the  reach  of  the  protection  of  the 
garrison.  In  September  of  this  year,  a  party  of 
Moha\ijk  Indians,  painted  red,  attacked  with 
furious  shouts  a  company  of  whites  who  were 
busy  cutting  and  drawing  timber  in  the  woods. 
Among  these  men  was  Captain  Chesley,  who 
was  known  as  a  brave  and  useful  man  in  New- 
Hampshire.  At  the  first  fire  they  killed  seven 
and  mortally  wounded  another.  Chesley  and 
the  few  others  remaining  seized  their  guns  and 
returned  the  fire  vigorously,  and  for  a  little 
while  they  were  able  to  keep  the  savages  back. 
But  at  last  the  whites  were  overpowered,  and 
the  gallant  Captain  Chesley  fell,  and  the  Indians 
bore  off  the  scalps  of  the  murdered  men  in  tri- 
umph." 

"  That  was  very  bad  indeed,  sir." 

"  It  was,  surely ;  and  most  people,  under  such 
circumstances,  would  have  given  up  at  once  in 
despair.  At  the  close  of  this  year  there  was 
very  little  to  encourage  any  man,  who  was  a 
friend  to  the  colony,  in  hoping  for  success  in 
this  Indian  war.  Many  did  despair,  but  the 
citizens  of  New -Hampshire  seem  to  have  yielded 
to  no  discouragements. 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  15 

"  I  never  think  of  these  brave  men,  my  chil- 
dren, and  of  their  bold  struggles,  even  when  the 
hope  of  success  was  almost  dead,  without  a  feel- 
ing of  pride  for  them.  This  was  the  most  terri- 
ble kind  of  war ;  for  they  were  fighting  with  an 
enemy  whom  they  could  seldom  see,  and  who 
were  almost  every  night  lurking  about  their 
dwellings  ready  to  strike  the  blow." 

"  Oh,  yes,  Uncle  Philip,  there  were  brave  men 
then,  and  there  are  brave  men  now  in  New- 
Hampshire.  I  know  one  brave  man  who  was 
born  there,  and  that  was  my  grandfather." 

"  Yes,  my  little  friend,  your  grandfather  was 
a  brave  man,  and  the  name  of  GENERAL  STARK 
will  be  remembered  as  that  of  a  man  useful  to 
his  country.  I  shall  have  much  to  say  about  him 
before  we  get  through,  but  we  will  not  speak  of 
him  just  now.  At  present  we  will  talk  more  of 
the  war. 

"  I  told  you  the  people  of  New-Hampshire 
were  not  easily  discouraged  by  the  dangers  and 
trials  that  surrounded  them.  Let  me  prove  this 
to  you.  In  the  beginning  of  the  very  next  year, 
1708,  a  large  army  was  raised  in  Canada  for 
the  purpose  of  coming  down  upon  New-England, 
and  destroying  the  settlements  far  and  wide. 
The  New-Hampshire  people  made  themselves 


16  HISTORY    OF 

ready  for  defence.  Governor  Dudley  heard  of 
the  intended  attack,  and  immediately  posted 
guards  along  the  frontier,  at  the  most  exposed 
points,  to  give  the  alarm  if  the  French  should 
approach.  The  men  readily  obeyed,  notwith- 
standing the  danger  of  the  service.  Others  were 
kept  out  continually  as  scouts,  moving  along  the 
coast  in  small  boats,  watching  for  the  approach 
of  the  enemy  by  water. 

"  But,  fortunately  for  the  colonies,  the  Canada 
army  met  with  so  many  accidents  that  no  part 
of  New-Hampshire  was  attacked." 

"Did  the  army  reach  New-England,  Uncle 
Philip1?" 

"  A  part  of  the  army  fell  upon  Haverhill  in 
Massachusetts,  but  they  were  so  weakened  by 
their  losses  and  accidents  that  they  were  forced 
to  make  the  best  of*their  way  back.  New- 
Hampshire  was  now  quiet,  and,  as  the  Canada 
attack  had  failed,  they  were  free  from  alarm." 

"  They  were  active,  too,  I  suppose,  sir." 

"  Major  Hilton  went  out  with  a  small  party 
in  the  winter  of  this  year,  for  the  purpose  of  an- 
noying the  Indians,  but  made  no  discoveries  of 
any  consequence." 

"  He  was  always  ready  to  go,  Uncle  Philip. 
He  must  have  had  a  natural  hate  for  the  In- 
dians." 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  17 

"  He  was  a  brave  man,  Robert,  who  never 
feared  an  enemy,  and  was  always  ready  to  meet 
him.  He  loved  the  safety  and  welfare  of  the 
colonies  more  than  he  loved  his  own  safety. 
Such  men  are  always  ready  to  go,  as  you  say. 
Where  the  common  safety  and  welfare  of  their 
friends  and  neighbours  are  concerned,  they  never 
stop  to  think  of  themselves. 

"The  people  in  New-Hampshire  were  not 
yet  satisfied ;  and  they  resolved,  if  possible,  to 
put  an  end  to  this  war,  and  also  to  punish  the 
French,  who  were  the  cause  of  all  their  trouble. 

"  They  at  first  determined  to  make  an  attack 
upon  Canada,  and  had  asked  aid  in  England  to 
carry  on  the  expedition." 

"  How  did  the  government  in  England  regard 
this  plan,  Uncle  Philip  ?" 

"  They  promised  the  necessary  assistance,  and 
sent  orders  to  the  colonies  to  raise  a  force  for 
this  service.  The  governors  of  the  New-England 
provinces  raised  and  armed  their  troops,  and 
held  them  ready  to  march  on  the  arrival  of  the 
English  forces ;  but  the  whole  enterprise  was 
finally  abandoned." 

"  What  was  the  cause  of  that,  Uncle  Philip  ?" 

"News  came  over  from  England  that  the 
troops  there  destined  for  this  service  were  to  be 


18  HISTORY    OF 

otherwise  employed ;  and  the  fleet  at  Boston  re- 
fusing to  convoy  the  American  troops,  the  army 
was  disbanded. 

"Attention  was  next  turned  toward  Port 
Royal.  Fortunately  for  the  colonies,  they  found, 
just  at  this  time,  a  warm  friend  to  aid  them. 
This  was  Francis  Nicholson,  of  whom  you  have 
heard  before." 

"  Oh,  yes,  sir ;  he  was  lieutenant-governor  of 
Virginia." 

"  He  had  been,  but  was  not  at  the  time  of 
which  I  am  now  speaking.  He  went  to  Eng- 
land to  beg  that  assistance  might  be  given  to  the 
people  in  their  attempt  against  Port  Royal." 

"  Did  he  succeed,  sir,  in  his  request  ?" 

"  Yes ;  he  came  over  with  five  ships  and  a 
body  of  men.  New-Hampshire  raised  her  share 
of  the  New-England  force,  and  they  set  sail  from 
Boston  on  the  18th  of  September.  Six  days 
after  this  they  appeared  before  Port  Royal,  and 
began  to  fire  upon  the  town.  The  French  saw 
that  there  were  no  hopes  of  a  successful  resist- 
ance, and,  after  a  few  shots,  surrendered.  Cap- 
tain Vetch  was  appointed  commander  of  the 
place,  and  then  it  was  that  the  English  changed 
the  name  from  Port  Royal  to  Annapolis,  the 
name  which  you  now  see  written  on  the  map. 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  19 

This  was  done  in  honour  of  the  (  good  Queen 
Anne.'  " 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  that,  Uncle  Philip." 

"  Now  tell  me  who  it  was  that  asked  yester- 
day if  Hilton  was  killed." 

"  It  was  I,  Uncle  Philip." 

"  Very  good,  Charles ;  you  shall  now  hear,  not 
only  that  he  was  killed,  but  learn  in  what  man- 
ner he  died.  While  his  brave  friends  were  en- 
gaged in  reducing  Port  Royal,  he  was  murdered 
at  home." 

"  That  is  sad  news,  sir.  I  am  sorry  to  hear 
it." 

"  Yes,  yes,  and  I  am  sorry  to  tell  it ;  but  you 
know  that  the  man  who  tells  you  a  story  must 
tell  you  the  truth,  whether  it  be  pleasant  or  dis- 
agreeable. If  a  man  should  pretend  to  teach 
me  history,  and  should  tell  me  nothing  but 
pleasant  stories,  I  should  fear  that  he  was  not 
always  speaking  the  truth." 

"  Tell  us  why,  Uncle  Philip." 

"  I  will ;  but  do  you  tell  me  first  what  history 
means." 

"  You  told  us,  when  we  first  began  to  learn  it, 
what  it  meant.  It  is  nothing  but  a  story  about 
men  who  lived  a  long  time  ago  in  any  country, 
and  also  what  these  men  did  and  suffered." 


20  HISTORY    OF 

"  You  are  quite  right.  And  now  tell  me  if 
you  ever  knew  any  man  who  did  not  have  some 
trouble  in  this  world." 

"  No,  Uncle  Philip,  I  never  did." 

"  Well,  what  that  man  did  and  suffered 
throughout  his  life  would  be  his  history,  would 
it  not?" 

"Yes,  Uncle  Philip." 

"  Some  events  of  his  history  would  be  agree- 
able and  pleasant  to  read  and  talk  about.  But 
his  trials,  and  sorrows,  and  misfortunes  would 
not  be  at  all  pleasant  to  hear  about" 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  know  now  what  you  mean.  You 
are  going  to  say  that  the  history  of  a  country  or 
colony  is  like  the  history  of  a  man.  All  men 
suffer ;  and,  in  talking  to  us  about  them,  you 
must,  in  telling  the  truth,  sometimes  speak  of 
their  sufferings." 

"  Very  well.  I  could  tell  you  a  part  of  the 
history  of  a  man  or  of  a  colony,  and  yet  talk  to 
you  only  of  pleasant  and  agreeable  matters." 

"  But  then,  Uncle  Philip,  you  would  not  tell 
us  the  whole  truth,  and  a  few  circumstances  in 
a  man's  life  would  not  be  his  history." 

"  Yes,  exactly  so.  Uncle  Philip  is  now  forced 
to  tell  you  of  the  death  of  Major  Hilton.  So  you 
will  now  listen. 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  21 

"  Hilton  had  many  enemies,  as  you  well  konw 
who  were  continually  watching  him,  and  he  was 
usually  prudent  enough  to  carry  his  arms  for 
safety.  At  the  time  of  which  I  am  speaking, 
however,  he  had  gone  into  the  woods,  at  some 
distance  from  his  house,  with  several  men,  for  the 
purpose  of  cutting  down  large  trees  for  the 
masts  of  vessels.  He  was  suddenly  surprised  by 
a  party  of  savages  (who  had  been  waiting  for 
him  for  some  time),  and  was  killed  by  the  first 
fire  from  their  guns.  Two  other  men  were  also 
killed,  but  the  rest  escaped.  And  on  the  next 
day,  children,  one  hundred  men  went  out  in  pur- 
suit of  the  savages,  but  did  not  find  them.  Yet 
they  discovered  the  bodies  of  the  three  dead 
men ;  and  poor  Hilton  was  laying  on  his  back, 
with  three  or  four  hatchets  resting  in  his  head, 
and  a  lance  left  sticking  in  his  heart.  The  In- 
dians hated  him  bitterly,  and  had  therefore  left 
him  in  this  way. 

"  But,  my  lads,  it  seems  to  me  that,  in  these 
times,  when  one  brave  white  man  died,  another 
very  soon  showed  himself  in  his  place.  It  is 
generally  in  times  of  great  difficulty  and  danger 
to  any  country  that  great  men  are  seen,  because 
then  great  men  are  necessary  to  save  the  coun- 
try." 


22  HISTORY    OF 

"  Well,  Uncle  Philip,  I  believe  that ;  for  just 
think  of  those  great  men  in  the  Congress  of 
1774,  of  which  you  have  told  us.  If  there 
had  been  no  difficulties  in  the  country,  I  do  not 
think  that  such  a  body  of  men  would  have  as- 
sembled." 

"  That  is  very  true,  my  lad,  and  you  will  find 
it  true  almost  always.  Great  men  are  generally 
seen  in  dangerous  times.  Hilton  was  no  sooner 
dead  than  there  was  another  bold  man  to  oppose 
the  savages.  This  man  was  Colonel  Walton." 

"  Uncle  Philip,  let  us  hear  something  of  him, 
if  you  please." 

"  I  cannot  talk  much  of  him,  for  it  would  take 
up  too  much  time  just  now,  and  I  wish  to  hurry 
on  to  the  end  of  this  Indian  war.  So  I  will  tell 
you  but  one  story  about  him  now. 

"  Soon  after  Hilton's  death,  Colonel  Walton 
went  with  nearly  two  hundred  men  to  the  east, 
and  many  of  the  Indians  were  at  that  time  out 
upon  the  shores  in  search  of  clams.  Walton  and 
his  men  stopped  on  an  island  near  the  shore,  and 
there  raised  a  fire  (for  it  was  near  winter).  The 
savages  along  the  shore,  seeing  the  smoke  from 
the  fire,  supposed  that  a  party  of  friendly  Indians 
were  there." 

"  So  they  went  there,  I  suppose,  sir  ?" 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  23 

"  Yes ;  they  \vrnt  there,  and  were  made  pris- 
oners. One  of  these  prisoners  was  an  old  sa- 
chem, who  was  bold  and  sullen,  and  he  refused 
to  answer  any  questions,  or  to  give  any  informa- 
tion which  would  help  Colonel  Walton  and  his 
party  to  find  the  Indians.  They  threatened  to 
kill  him,  but  he  laughed  at  their  threats,  and 
would  disclose  nothing.  His  wife,  however,  was 
less  bold  and  firm.  She  became  alarme'd,  and 
disclosed  all  she  knew  about  the  plans  of  the 
Indians  and  the  places  where  they  were  con- 
cealed. 

"  This  afforded  partial  success  to  the  people. 
Walton  followed  the  directions  which  she  gave, 
and  discovered  and  put  to  death  a  number  of  the 
enemy.  The  result  of  this  expedition  raised  the 
spirits  of  the  people,  and  led  them  to  hope  for 
complete  victory  over  their  savage  foe." 

"  Did  it  frighten  the  Indians,  Uncle  Philip,  as 
much  as  it  encouraged  the  colonists  ?" 

"  No,  I  think  not.  They  renewed  again,  after 
a  while,  their  ravages  on  the  frontiers,  sending 
forth  small  parties  to  plunder  and  kill  all  they 
could  find." 

"  Well,  sir,  the  people  had  done  something  to 
make  them  feel  hope  and  courage.  Nicholson 
succeeded  in  reducing  Port  Royal,  and  Walton 


24  HISTORY    OF 

was  active  and  successful  with  the  Indians.  I 
should  think  the  good  people  would  be  encour- 
aged to  carry  on  the  war  bravely  and  warmly." 

"Yes,  that  was  the  case.  Do  you  remember 
the  story  in  our  New-York  history  of  the  five  In- 
dians who  went  to  see  Queen  Anne,  to  beg  for 
her  assistance  against  the  French  ?"* 

"  Yes,  sir,  we  remember  it." 

"  Perhaps,  too,  you  recollect  I  told  you  that 
Nicholson,  after  taking  Port  Royal,  aided  these 
Indians  in  their  petition  to  the  queen  j  for  he  was 
anxious  to  conquer  the  French  and  Indians  in 
Canada." 

"  Oh,  yes,  sir ;  I  have  not  forgotten  that." 

"Then  just  tell  me  what  you  can  recollect 
about  it." 

"I  remember  that  the  queen  did  aid  these 
men,  and- that  she  sent  out  forces,  and  that  there 
was  an  army  of  more  than  five  thousand  men 
ready  to  go  against  Canada.  The  fleet  sailed 
from  Boston,  but  was  driven  ashore  in  the.  St 
Lawrence  River,  and  eight  hundred  men  were 
lost  there.  Many  of  the  vessels  were  wrecked 
there,  and  the  remainder  of  the  fleet  returned 
home.  I  recollect,  too,  that  one  of  the  ship?, 
was  blown  up,  and  four  hundred  people  were  e" 
board  of  her  at  the  time." 

*  See  Uncle  Philip's  History  of  New-York. 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  25 

"  Yes,  Uncle  Philip,  that  ship  was  called  tin 
Edgar." 

"  That  is  a  very  good  account  indeed  of  the 
expedition.  And  now  tell  me  at  what  time  this 
happened." 

"  Ah,  Uncle  Philip,  I  have  forgotten  that." 

"In  the  year  1711.  It  is  of  the  events  of 
this  same  year  that  we  are  now  talking.  So 
you  will  see  that  this  expedition,  that  you  have 
just  told  me  about,  has  something  to  do  with  our 
New-Hampshire  history." 

"  Yes,  Uncle  Philip ;  I  remember  that  you  told 
us  also  that  soldiers  from  New-England  were  in 
that  expedition." 

"  Very  well.  I  wish  you  to  bear  in  mind  that 
New-Hampshire  bore  her  part  in  that  underta- 
king, for  she  was  never  backward  in  sending  out 
soldiers  in  defence  of  her  country." 

"  Uncle  Philip,  as  this  expedition  did  not  suc- 
ceed, I  should  think  that  the  people  would  have 
been  discouraged,  and  the  French  and  Indians 
still  more  troublesome." 

"  It  did  give  confidence  to  the  Indians ;  and, 
as  soon  as  the  season  would  allow,  they  went 
out  in  parties,  as  usual,  to  murder  and  plunder 
But  the  frontiers  were  constantly  and  faith- 
fully guarded,  and  a  body  of  the  militia  kept 
ii.— 3 


26  HISTORY    OF 

ready  at  the  garrisons  to  march  at  a  minute's 
warning.  A  scout  of  forty  men  was  out  on 
duty,  ranging  about  the  exposed  points  of  the 
colony,  and  a  similar  look-out  was  kept  up  on 
the  coast,  to  give  the  alarm  should  an  enemy 
approach  by  water. 

"  There  is  an  anecdote  told  of  a  brave  woman 
who  alone  frightened  away  a  party  of  Indians." 

"  Were  there  no  men  with  her  to  assist  her  ?" 

"Not  a  single  person  near  her.  She  was 
alone,  at  a  place  called  Heard's  Garrison,  and 
her  name  was  Esther  Jones.  When  the  Indians 
approached  she  mounted  guard,  and  called  out 
so  loudly,  and  gave  her  orders  so  boldly,  that 
the  enemy  thought  there  was  a  strong  party  at 
hand  ready  to  defend  the  garrison,  and  they 
marched  off. 

"  And  now,  as  I  can  tell  you  nothing  more  of 
this  war,  except  that  the  Indians  would  occa- 
sionally attack  the  people  on  Sundays  as  they 
were  going  from  church,  and  murder  children, 
and  steal,  and  plunder,  and  do  many  other 
wicked  things,  we  will  pass  on  down  to  the 
treaty  of  Utrecht,  of  which  you  have  heard 
something  before." 

"  Yes,  Uncle  Philip.  It  was  a  treaty  of  peace, 
made  in  Europe,  between  England  and  France, 
in  1713." 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  27 

"  Very  good.  The  news  of  that  peace  reached 
America,  and  that  put  an  end  to  the  war.  The 
Indians,  as  soon  as  they  heard  of  the  peace, 
came  in  with  a  flag  of  truce  to  Casco,  and  de- 
sired a  treaty. 

"  And  here,  my  children,  another  treaty  was 
signed.  The  Indians,  as  usual,  confessed  that 
they  had  been  cruel  and  treacherous,  promised 
to  be  faithful  to  the  laws  of  England,  and  begged 
the  queen's  pardon  for  having  treated  her  sub- 
jects so  badly.  The  white  men,  though  they 
knew  that  the  savages  had  often  deceived  them, 
consented  to  this  treaty  for  the  sake  of  restoring 
tranquillity  and  rest  to  the  colony,  and  thus 
ended  what  was  commonly  called  '  Queen  Anne's 


"  Well,  Uncle  Philip,  I  am  pleased  that  this 
war  was  ended.  I  hope  the  colony  had  rest  for 
some  time  now." 

"  You  will  learn,  as  we  go  on,  how  prosper- 
ously New-Hampshire  advanced,  and  what  far- 
ther troubles  the  people  met  with.  But  we  must 
not  lose  sight  of  Governor  Dudley  and  Mr. 
Usher." 

"  Yes,  sir.  How  were  the  people  pleased  with 
their  management  during  the  war  ?" 

"  Usher  frequently  came  into  the  province  at 


28  HISTORY    OF 

the  request  of  Governor  Dudley,  and  sometimes 
resided  in  it  for  several  months  at  a  time.  He 
behaved  as  a  faithful  servant  of  the  crown ;  in- 
quired into  the  state  of  the  garrisons  and  fron- 
tiers, frequently  visited  them  in  person,  and  con- 
sulted with  the  officers  about  the  proper  means 
of  defence  and  protection." 

"  The  people  must  have  regarded  him  with 
more  favour  now,  I  think." 

"  The  harshness  of  his  manners,  and  the  inter- 
est he  had  in  Allen's  claims,  prevented  his  gain- 
ing that  popularity  which  his  good  conduct 
merited.  He  could  never  prevail  upon  the  As- 
sembly to  settle  a  salary  upon  him." 

"  And  did  he  receive  no  pay,  Uncle  Philip, 
for  his  trouble  ?" 

"  The  Council  generally  allowed  him  a  small 
sum  out  of  the  treasury  to  pay  his  travelling  ex- 
penses for  each  journey;  but  this  was  a  mere 
trifle,  not  exceeding  five  or  ten  pounds  each 
time." 

"  Did  he  feel  satisfied  with  that,  sir  ?" 

"  No ;  he  often  complained,  and  sometimes 
very  harshly,  but  to  little  purpose.  Governor 
Dudley,  on  the  other  hand,  had  the  good  fortune 
to  be  more  popular.  Besides  his  attention  to  the 
general  welfare  of  the  colony,  and  his  care  for 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  29 

its  defence,  he  gained  favour  among  the  people 
by  opposing  Allen's  claim.  And  when  he  was 
accused  to  the  queen,  and  his  removal  from  office 
recommended,  the  people  petitioned  to  her  ma- 
jesty in  his  behalf,  and  spoke  of  him  as  a  pru- 
dent, careful,  and  faithful  governor. 

"  But  there  was  a  change  in  the  English  gov- 
ernment, which  caused  the  appointment  of  a  new 
governor  for  the  colonies." 

"  Tell  us,  if  you  please,  how  that  was." 

"  When  you  are  older,  and  read  the  history 
of  England,  you  will  find  that  George  the  First 
became  king  soon  after  this  peace  was  made. 

"In  the  year  1714, 1  think,  he  ascended  the 
English  throne.  He  immediately  appointed  an- 
other man,  named  Burges,  to  be  governor  of 
Massachusetts  and  New-Hampshire,  and  George 
Vaughan  was  made  lieutenant-governor  under 
him,  to  manage  affairs  in  New-Hampshire." 

"  So  Dudley  was  displaced,  Uncle  Philip.  The 
people  thought  him  a  good  governor,  sir." 

"  Yes ;  they  were  well  satisfied,  as  their  peti- 
tions in  his  favour  prove.  But  it  was  now  a 
time  of  peace  in  England,  and  a  number  of 
officers,  who  had  gained  reputation  in  the  late 
war,  were  out  of  employment ;  and  I  suppose 
the  king  was  desirous  to  gratify  some  of  his 
c2 


30  HISTORY    OF 

friends  by  appointing  them  to  office  in  the  colo- 
nies. 

"  Vaughan  immediately  came  to  this  country, 
and  was  kindly  received  by  the  people ;  but  Col- 
onel Burges  was  persuaded  not  to  coine  at  all, 
and  Colonel  Shute  was  appointed  in  his  place." 

"  What  became  of  Mr.  Dudley,  sir  ?" 

"He  retired  to  his  family  seat  at  Roxbury, 
where  he  died  a  few  years  afterward.  Governor 
Shute  came  over  in  a  little  time,  and  it  was  not 
long  before  difficulties  sprung  up  between  him 
and  Vaughan.  So  that  I  do  not  think  that  the 
citizens  of  New-Hampshire  were  as  well  pleased 
as  they  had  been  under  Dudley's  administration." 

"  Uncle  Philip,  what  was  the  cause  of  their 
difficulties  ?" 

"  They  were  both  ambitious,  Charles,  and  this 
seemed  to  occasion  their  trouble." 

"  Uncle  Philip,  is  ambition  wicked  ?" 

"  No,  my  lad,  the  proper  sort  of  ambition  is 
never  sinful.  A  desire  to  improve  such  talents 
as  God  has  given  us,  and  to  be  useful  to  our 
fellow-men,  is  always  praiseworthy.  Is  there  no 
story  in  the  Bible  about  the  servant  who  received 
a  talent  from  his  master,  and  went  and  buried 
it  ?  And  do  you  not  remember  what  his  Lord 
said  to  him  ?" 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  31 

"  Yes,  yes,  Uncle  Philip  ;  he  was  condemned 
as  a  wicked  and  slothful  servant  for  not  impro- 
ving his  talent." 

"True.  Then  you  see  that  it  is  a  duty  foi 
us  to  improve  our  faculties,  because  we  thereby 
glorify  God  who  gave  them  to  us.  These  facul- 
ties, my  children,  belong  to  God  always,  and  he 
asks  of  us  a  good  account  of  their  improvement 
and  use.  But  suppose  a  man  should  use  his  tal- 
ents solely  for  his  own  benefit,  and  should  neither 
seek  nor  care  to  honour  God  with  them,  nor  to 
do  good  to  his  fellow-creatures.  What  then  ?" 

"  Why,  Uncle  Philip,  he  would  be  wicked." 

"  Certainly  he  would.  The  wickedness  then 
consists,  not  in  using  talents  and  in  desiring  to 
make  the  most  of  them,  but  in  using  them  im- 
properly. Not  to  use  them  at  all  is  to  use  them 
improperly  also.  The  man  or  child,  then,  who 
is  idle,  is  wicked.  The  person  who  desires  to  be 
rich  or  great  only  to  gratify  himself,  is  wicked 
also.  But  to  desire  that  you  may  be  great,  and 
wise,  and  good;  that  with  your  wisdom,  and 
knowledge,  and  wealth,  and  influence,  you  may 
glorify  God,  and  be  useful  to  your  fellow-men 
who  need  your  aid,  is  a  noble  ambition.  Such 
ambition  as  this  I  wish  every  one  of  my  young 
friends  here  to  possess. 


32  HISTORY    OP 

"  Oh,  my  children,  if  there  was  only  this  kind 
of  ambition  upon  earth,  how  happy  a  world 
would  you  and  Uncle  Philip  live  in. 

"  But  I  am  afraid  these  two  men,  Shute  and 
Vaughan,  we're  not  influenced  l»y  this  proper  sort 
of  ambition.  Like  many  other  men,  they  thought 
more  of  their  own  greatness  than  of  the  people's 
happiness.  Shute  said  he  was  governor  both 
of  Massachusetts  and  of  New-Hampshire,  and 
Vaughan  insisted  that,  when  Shute  was  absent 
in  Massachusetts,  he  was  himself  the  governor 
of  New-Hampshire.  Both  these  men  had  their 
friends,  but  Mr.  Vaughan  had  very  few.  When 
Governor  Shute  was  in  Boston,  he  sent  an  order 
to  Vaughan  to  appoint  a  day  for  a  fast.  This 
order  he  did  not  obey.  On  another  occasion  he 
ordered  him  to  adjourn  the  Assembly,  and,  in- 
stead of  obeying  this  order,  Vaughan  exercised 
his  own  authority  and  dissolved  the  Assembly. 
Governor  Shute  then  hurried  from  Boston  to 
Portsmouth,  where  he  found  Mr.  Vaughan,  and, 
after  a  great  deal  of  difficulty  and  dispute,  which 
would  not  give  you  any  pleasure  to  listen,  to  nor 
Uncle  Philip  any  pleasure  to  tell,  the  whole 
matter  was  referred  to  the  king." 

"  And  how  did  the  king  settle  the  difficulty  ?" 

"  He  displaced  Mr.  Vaughan,  and  appointed 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  33 

John  Wentworth  lieutenant-governor  in  his 
stead. 

"  Mr.  Wentworth  was  a  grandson  of  William 
Wentworth,  who  was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers 
in  the  province ;  and,  having  been  for  five  years 
a  member  of  the  Council,  he  was  esteemed  as  a 
useful  and  honest  man." 

"  The  people  were  pleased,  then,  with  the  ap- 
pointment of  Mr.  Wentworth  ?" 

"  Yes.  In  our  next  conversation  I  will  talk 
more  about  him ;  but  we  will  now  stop,  for  Uncle 
Philip  gets  fatigued  even  with  talking  to  the 
children." 


34  HISTORY    OF 


CONVERSATION  H. 

Uncle  Philip  tells  the  Children  about  several  of  the  old  Townt 
in  New-Hampshire — Governor  Shute  and  Mr.  Wentworth — 
The  Marquis  De  Vaudreiul  and  Ralle  persuade  the  Indians 
to  fight  the  English— Another  Indian  War,  called  LovewelPs 
War. 

"  COME  in,  children ;  I  am  ready  for  you.  We 
have  talked  about  several  towns  in  New-Hamp- 
shire, and  you  have  learned  how  these  towns 
were  settled.  These  are  Portsmouth,  and  Dover, 
and  Exeter,  and  Hampton." 

"  Yes ;  and  Kittery  too,  Uncle  Philip." 

"  Very  true.  And  I  shall  now  tell  you  of  an- 
other settlement,  and,  after  that,  we  will  go  on 
with  the  government  of  Shute  and  Wentworth. 
Now  tell  me,  Caroline,  is  there  such  a  place  as 
Londonderry  in  New-Hampshire  ?" 

"  Oh,  yes,  there  it  is ;  west  of  Hampton,  on 
Beaver  River." 

"Yes.  I  will  tell  you  how  this  place  was 
settled.  In  the  year  1719,  there  was  a  large 
number  of  men  who  came  from  the  northern 
part  of  Ireland  to  America.  These  men  were 
Scotchmen,  who  had  settled  in  Ireland,  and  had 
been  badly  treated  in  that  country  by  King 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  35 

James  the  Second  on  account  of  their  religion. 
After  William  was  made  king  they  were  treated 
better  than  before ;  but  they  had  heard  fine  re- 
ports of  the  New  World,  and  were  anxious  to 
come  over,  hoping  to  better  their  fortunes. 

"  They  therefore  sailed,  and,  on  a  clear  day 
in  the  month  of  October,  they  reached  Boston. 
The  company  consisted  of  about  one  hundred 
families.  Immediately  on  coming  ashore  they 
petitioned  for  a  piece  of  land,  and  were  allowed 
to  choose  for  themselves  a  township  six  miles 
square.  After  searching  for  some  time,  sixteen 
of  these  families  found  a  tract  of  land  that  pleased 
them,  just  north  of  what  was  then  called  Nut- 
field." 

"  I  do  not  see  that  place,  Uncle  Philip.  The 
name  must  be  changed  to  Londonderry." 

"Not  to  Londonderry.  It  was  changed  to 
Haverhill.  Do  you  see  it  ?" 

"Yes,  sir;  there  it  is,  on  the  Merrimack 
River." 

"  As  soon  as  spring  opened,  these  men  went 
from  Haverhill,  where  they  left  their  families, 
and  built  some  huts  near  a  small  stream  which 
empties  itself  into  Beaver  River,  and  which  they 
called  West-running  Brook.  As  these  men  had 
been  persecuted  by  King  James  for  their  religion, 


86  HISTORY    OF 

it  is  right  for  you  to  know  that  many  of  them 
were  pious  men.  The  very  evening  after  their 
arrival  at  this  new  spot,  they  all  collected  to- 
gether, and  a  sermon  was  preached  to  them.  I 
have  seen  the  very  tree  under  which  that  sermon 
was  preached.  It  is  a  large,  old  oak,  and  to 
this  very  day  the  people  regard  that  tree  with 
great  veneration. 

"  As  soon  as  they  could  collect  their  families 
and  get  a  little  comfortable  in  their  new  homes, 
they  invited  a  man  by  the  name  of  Macgregor 
to  be  their  minister. 

"  You  know  that  Ireland  is  a  famous  place  for 
manufacturing  linen.  These  people,  coming  from 
that  country,  brought  over  with  them  the  neces- 
sary materials  for  making  linen,  and  were  soon 
engaged  in  this  business.  Their  spinning-wheels 
were  a  great  curiosity  to  the  people.  Have  any 
of  you  ever  seen  flax  spun  on  a  wheel  turned  by 
the  foot  r 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  have." 

"  This  was,  at  that  time,  a  new  machine  in  the 
colonies,  and  of  course  it  excited  considerable 
attention. 

"They  also  introduced  the  potato  into  this 
state.  They  were  industrious  and  prudent,  and 
of  course  they  got  on  pretty  well  in  this  new 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE  37 

• 

country.  Two  years  after  this,  their  settlement 
took  the  name  of  Londonderry.  Can  any  of  you 
think  of  a  reason  why  they  should  give  it  this 
name  ?' 

"  No,  sir." 

"  The  town  they  left  in  Ireland,  and  where 
some  of  them  had  suffered,  had  that  name. 

"The  settlement  of  these  emigrants  opened 
the  way  and  gave  encouragement  to  others. 
Some  of  the  inhabitants  of  Portsmouth,  Exeter, 
and  Haverhill  applied  for  grants  of  land  for 
new  plantations;  and  about  this  year,  Chester, 
Nottingham,  Barrington,  and  Rochester  were 
laid  out.  Look  for  the  places  on  the  map." 

"  I  see,  sir.  There  is  Chester  to  the  north  of 
Londonderry,  and  there  is  Nottingham  north  of 
Chester." 

"  Yes  ;  and  the  other  two  are  still  higher  up, 
in  Strafford  county." 

"  Yes,  sir.     I  see  them  now,  sir." 

"  Very  good.  We  will  now  return  to  Govern- 
or Shute  and  Mr.  Wentworth.  The  governor's 
difficulties  did  not  end  when  Vaughan  was  dis- 
missed and  gent  home." 

"  Did  he  have  difficulties  with  Mr.  Wentworth, 
Uncle  Philip  ?" 

"  He  had  no  trouble  with  him,  but  his  trou- 

VOL.  n. — D 


38  HISTORY    OF 

bles  arose  about  the  Massachusetts  boundary- 
lines.  There  were  many  in  that  province  who 
disliked  him,  on  account  of  the  part  which  he 
took  in  that  question. 

"  His  enemies  in  Massachusetts  were  so  strong, 
and  so  much  against  him,  that  he  thought  it 
would  be  pleasanter  for  him  to  ask  leave  to  re- 
turn to  England." 

"  Was  he  a  bad  governor,  Uncle  Philip  ?" 

"  He  was  of  a  land  and  obliging  disposition ; 
but  he  had  been  so  long  used  to  military  com- 
mand, that  he  could  not  bear,  as  patiently  as  he 
ought,  the  vexations  of  his  office.  Soldiers,  you 
know,  are  accustomed  to  a  strict  obedience  to 
commands.  It  is  difficult  for  one  who  has  been 
many  years  subject  to  such  strict  discipline,  to 
bear  the  disputes  and  vexations  which  are  likely 
to  arise  in  the  government  of  such  a  colony  as 
New-Hampshire  then  was. 

"  The  people  of  New-Hampshire  were  satis- 
fied with  Governor  Shute  as  far  as  they  were 
concerned,  and  were  disposed  to  do  what  they 
could  to  make  his  administration  pleasant  to 
him.  But  he  found  his  troubles  increasing,  and 
he  asked  permission  to  return  home.  It  is  said 
that  he  carried  home  many  complaints  against 
the  colony." 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  39 

"  And  Mr.  Wentworth  was  then  left  in  charge 
of  the  government  ?" 

"  Yes,  for  a  time ;  and  he  behaved  very  well. 
Just  before  Governor  Shute  left  the  colony,  the 
Indians  began  war  again,  and  it  was  during 
this  war  that  Wentworth  showed  himself  an  ac- 
tive and  brave  man." 

"  Uncle  Philip,  what  was  the  cause  of  this 
war  ?  These  Indians  were  very  treacherous,  and 
careless  of  their  promises.  Did  they  have  any 
cause  for  beginning  another  war  ?" 

"  They  said  they  had.  After  the  peace  of 
Utrecht,  many  of  the  white  men  went  beyond 
the  river  Kennebeck,  and  there  settled  them- 
selves down  on  the  lands  which  suited  them 
best.  They  built  their  huts  and  mills,  and  the 
Indians  found  fault  with  all  this.  They  said  that 
the  noise  made  by  the  mills  had  frightened  the 
fish  away  from  the  streams," 

"  That  was  a  singular  reason  for  a  war,  sir." 

"  Besides  this,  they  said  that  the  white  men 
had  no  right  to  the  lands  which  they  had  taken. 
The  white  men  said  that  they  bought  the  land, 
and  paid  for  it". 

"  If  that  was  true,  they  had  a  right  to  it,  Uncle 
Philip." 

"Certainly.     But  the  Indians  declared  that 


40  HISTORY    OF 

the  lands  had  been  bought  from  their  fathers 
when  they  were  drunk,  and  that  the  white  men 
had  taken  advantage  of  them  ;  giving  them  tire- 
water  to  make  them  drunk,  and  then  cheating 
them. 

"  However,  these  difficulties,  I  think,  might 
have  been  settled  without  shedding  any  blood, 
if  the  French  had  not  been  anxious  to  encourage 
the  Indians  in  making  war.  Did  you  ever  hear 
anything  of  a  Frenchman  named  Sebastian 
Ralle  1" 

"  What,  Father  Ralle,  the  Indian  missionary, 
of  whom  you  told  us  in  the  history  of  Massachu- 
setts ?" 

"  Yes,  the  very  same.  Well,  I  am  sorry  to 
say,  he  was  a  wicked  man." 

"  What,  Uncle  Philip,  a  wicked  man,  and  a 
missionary  among  the  savages  1  Can  a  wicked 
man  be  a  Christian  missionary  ?" 

"  No  wicked  man  can  truly  teach  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  because  he  does  not  understand  it ; 
and,  if  that  was  not  necessary,  he  could  not  and 
would  not  illustrate  its  influence  in  his  own  life. 
Such  a  man  may  pretend  to  teach  it,  and  he 
may  act  like  a  pious  and  good  man  before 
others,  when  he  is  all  the  while  a  wretched  and 
miserable  hypocrite.  Still  he  gains  nothing  by 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  41 

such  deceit,  for  God  sees  the  heart  always,  and 
he  will  punish  him  for  such  wickedness  hereafter. 

"But  Ralle,  as  I  said,  lived  among  the  In- 
dians, and  they  became  very  devotedly  attached 
to  him.  I  have  heard  that,  on  one  occasion, 
Governor  Shute  held  a  conference  with  some  of 
the  Indians,  and  offered  them  an  Indian  Bible, 
and  a  preacher  to  explain  it  to  them ;  but  they 
told  him  t  that  God  had  given  them  teaching 
already,  and  if  they  should  go  from  that,  they 
would  displease  him.'  And  afterward,  when 
one  of  these  sachems  was  asked  why  the  Indians 
were  so  much  pleased  with  the  French,  he  an- 
swered, '  Because  the  French  have  taught  us  to 
pray  to  God,  but  the  English  never  did.'  So 
you  see  that  they  were  strongly  attached  to  Halle 
and  his  religion. 

"  This  man,  therefore,  was  anxious  that  they 
should  fight  the  English,  and  persuaded  them  to 
begin  the  war.  He  had  a  flag,  on  which  was 
painted  a  cross,  the  sacred  symbol  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  and  around  this  cross  were  repre- 
sented the  bow  and  arrows,  and  tomahawk,  the 
cruel  weapons  of  Indian  warfare.  Before  he 
sent  them  out  to  battle  he  would  display  this 
flag  on  a  pole,  and  give  them  his  absolution  and 
blessing." 

ii.— 4 


42  HISTORY    OF 

"  Uncle  Philip,  he  made  the  Christian  religion 
a  means  of  promoting  war  and  bloodshed." 

"  Yes.  And  it  happened  to  him  as  our  blessed 
Saviour  once  said,  he  that  taketh  the  sword  shall 
perish  with  the  sword" 

"  Yes.  I  recollect,  Uncle  Philip,  he  was 
killed  in  the  war,  as  you  told  us  in  the  history 
of  Massachusetts."* 

"  The  Marquis  De  Vaudreiul,  the  governor  of 
Canada,  wrote  letters  to  Father  Ralle  continu- 
ally, urging  him  to  send  the  savages  out  against 
the  English,  and  even  promising  to  aid  them. 
But  this  promise  was  made  very  secretly,  be- 
cause France  and  England  were  then  at  peace, 
and  the  governor  had  no  right  to  make  such  a 
promise."  . 

"  Uncle  Philip,  why  did  he  do  this  ?" 

"  The  French  and  English,  though  at  peace, 
disliked  each  other  at  that  time  very  much. 
Indeed,  there  has  always  been  considerable  jeal- 
ousy existing  between  these  two  nations.  Per- 
haps the  French  governor  thought  that  the  best 
way  to  make  the  Indians  his  friends  was  to  in- 
fluence them  to  hate  the  English.  Be  this  as  it 
may,  these  two  men  succeeded  in  creating  a  war, 
by  urging  the  Indians  to  commit  hostilities  on 
*  Uncle  Philip's  History  of  Massachusetts,  vol.  ii.,  p.  62 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  43 

the  English  settlements  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Kennebeck." 

"  That  was  very  treacherous  conduct,  sir,  on 
the  part  of  these  two  Frenchmen." 

"  It  certainly  was.  The  people  in  that  neigh- 
bourhood were  discouraged  by  the  hostilities  of 
the  Indians,  and  many  of  them  determined  to 
remove.  Their  cattle  were  killed,  their  hay  and 
fodder  burned,  and  other  depredations  were  com- 
mitted upon  them." 

"  Did  the  whites  do  anything  to  protect  them- 
selves, sir  ?" 

"Yes.  The  garrisons  were  re-enforced,  anrt 
scouting  parties  were  sent  out  to  give  the  alarm 
should  the  enemy  approach.  The  Indians  were 
alarmed  at  this  display  of  force,  though  at  first 
they  seemed  resolute  in  demanding  the  removal 
of  the  English.  They  were  told  that  they  must 
either  maintain  perfect  peace,  or  submit  to  the 
chances  of  open  war;  and,  finding  that  there 
was  no  other  alternative,  they  desired  to  make 
peace.  They  made  the  English  a  present  of 
some  skins,  and  gave  up  four  of  their  young  men 
as  hostages  l'<  r  their-good  behaviour. 

"  However,  the  people  were  not  yet  satisfied. 
They  thought  that  Ralle  had  made  all  this  trou- 
ble, and  they  were  anxious  to  seize  him.  A 


44  HISTORY    OF 

party  was  therefore  sent  out  to  take  him.  They 
arrived  near  his  house  without  being  discovered 
but,  before  they  could  fairly  surround  it,  Ralle 
got  the  alarm,  and  made  his  escape  into  the 
woods." 

"  So  they  accomplished  nothing  this  time,  Un- 
cle Philip  ?" 

"  They  did  not  accomplish  their  main  design. 
After  searching  the  woods  for  Father  Ralle,  they 
returned  and  entered  his  house,  but  found  no- 
thing except  a  box,  which  contained  his  letters 
and  other  papers.  This  was  a  valuable  discov- 
ery in  one  respect." 

"  How  so,  Uncle  Philip  ?" 

"Among  the  papers  they  seized  they  found 
the  letters  of  Vaudreiul,  which  he  had  written  to 
Father  Ralle,  advising  him  to  encourage  the  In- 
dians in  their  hostilities.  These  letters  proved 
that  the  French  governor  in  Canada  was  acting 
a  base  and  dishonest  part." 

"  Did  the  war  end  here,  Uncle  Philip  *?" 

"  No.  This  attempt  to  seize  Ralle  caused  the 
Indians  to  be  very  angry,  and  they  began  again 
to  make  disturbance  and  da  injury.  They  made 
prisoners  of  nine  families  at  a  place  called  Mer- 
ry-meeting Bay.  Some  of  them  they  set  free, 
but  they  kept  enough  of  them  to  exchange  for 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  45 

the  hostages  they  had  given  to  the  English. 
These  they  sent  to  Canada.  They  also  surprised 
some  fishing  vessels  along  the  eastern  coast,  and 
at  length  made  a  furious  attack  upon  the  town 
of  Brunswick,  which  they  destroyed." 

"  They  were  really  disposed  for  war,  sir." 

"  Yes  ',  and  the  English  met  them  not  less 
openly  and  earnestly.  The  first  appearance  of 
the  enemy  in  New-Hampshire  was  at  Dover, 
where  they  surprised  and  killed  a  number  of 
men,  and  carried  away  captive  several  children. 
They  made  an  attack,  also,  upon  the  people  at 
Oyster  River;  surprised  them  on  their  return 
from  public  worship  on  Sunday,  and  killed  two 
or  three. 

"  The  whites  did  what  they  could  to  protect 
themselves.  They  kept  watch ;  went  to  their 
work,  and  even  to  church,  armed ;  slept  at  the 
garrison  every  night,  and  offered  a  large  reward 
for  Indian  scalps.  But  the  enemy  were,  as  usual, 
crafty  and  secret  in  their  movements,  coming 
upon  them  when  least  expected,  and.taking  every 
possible  advantage  of  time  and  circumstances. 

"  There  was  a  man  at  Oyster  Bay  named  Da- 
vis, who  was  at  work  in  his  cornfield  with  his 
son.  They  went  to  a  brook  to  drink,  and  found 
three  Indian  packs.  They  immediately  gave 


46  HISTORY   OF 

notice  of  the  discovery  to  the  volunteer  company, 
and  guided  them  to  the  place.  The  cunning 
Indians  had  concealed  themselves,  and  fired 
upon  the  party  as  they  approached,  and  killed 
Davis  and  his  son." 

"  That  was  sad,  Uncle  Philip." 

"  The  whites  fired,  and  killed  one  and  wound- 
ed two  others,  but  they  made  their  escape.  The 
Indian  who  was  killed  was  one  of  their  chiefs, 
and  wore  a  kind  of  crown  made  of  fur,  coloured 
scarlet,  to  which  hung  four  small  bells.  He  was 
not  a  full-blood  Indian ;  and  from  some  papers 
they  found  with  him,  and  a  Roman  Catholic 
book  of  devotion  which  he  carried,  he  was  sup- 
posed to  be  a  son  of  Ralle.  His  scalp  was  pre- 
sented to  the  lieutenant-governor,  and  the  bounty 
paid  to  the  company. 

"  I  could  tell  you  of  a  great  many  other  in- 
teresting adventures  connected  with  this  war, 
and  many  sad  stories  of  suffering  and  captivity. 
I  will  relate  to  you  the  sufferings  of  a  Mr.  Han- 
son, who  lived  at  Dover,  if  you  would  like  to 
hear  about  him." 

"  Yes,  Uncle  Philip ;  tell  us,  if  you  please,  of 
this  Mr.  Hanson." 

"  He  belonged  to  the  society  of  Friends,  or 
Quakers,  as  they  are  called ;  and  although  he 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  47 

lived  on  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  with  a  large 
family,  and  exposed  to  the  Indians  if  they  should 
make  an  attack,  yet  he  could  not  be  persuaded 
to  remove  to  the  garrison  for  safety.  A  party 
of  Mohawks  had  marked  this  house  for  their 
prey  j  and  while  he  and  his  eldest  daughter  were 
gone  to  attend  a  meeting,  and  his  two  eldest 
sons  were  at  a  distance  at  work,  the  Indians  en- 
tered the  house,  killed  and  scalped  two  small 
children,  and  took  his  wife  and  her  infant,  only 
fourteen  days  old,  and  three  other  children,  and 
carried  them  away." 

"  That  was  terrible  work,  sir." 

"  When  the  father  and  daughter  returned,  the 
poor  girl  first  saw  the  two  little  children  dead 
at  the  door.  She  screamed;  and  her  mother, 
who  was  a  prisoner  in  the  woods,  and  her  broth- 
ers, who  were  at  work  in  the  meadow,  heard 
her  cries.  Pursuit  was  immediately  made  for 
the  savages,  but  they  escaped  with  their  pris- 
oners." 

"  Where  did  they  carry  the  mother  and  her 
children  ?" 

"  They  were  taken  to  Canada,  Mary,  and 
there  sold." 

"  Did  she  never  come  home  again,  sir  ?" 

"  Mr.  Hanson  removed  the  rest  of  his  family 


48 


HISTORY    OF 


to  a  place  of  safety,  and  the  next  spring  went  to 
Canada  and  brought  home  his  wife  and  his  chil- 
dren, excepting  the  eldest  daughter,  whom  he 
could  not  obtain.  She  was  afterward  married 
to  a  Frenchman,  and  never  came  back. 

"  This  attack  upon  Dover  only  made  the 
white  men  more  determined  against  the  Indians 
and  Father  Ralle,  whom  they  resolved  either  to 
seize  or  put  to  death.  Two  companies,  of  one 
hundred  men  in  each,  under  the  command  of 
captains  Moulton  and  Harman,  started  for  the 
country  where  this  French  priest  lived.  This 
time  they  succeeded,  as  I  told  you  in  our  conver- 
sations about  Massachusetts.  They  killed  Ralle 
and  about  eighty  of  his  Indians,  destroyed  his 
village  and  the  little  chapel  where  they  wor- 
shipped, and  brought  away  some  captives,  and 
everything  which  they  could  find  of  any  value." 
"  He  was  truly  a  wicked  man,  Uncle  Philip." 
"  Yes,  my  children,  I  think  he  was  a  bad  man ; 
but  remember  always  that  it  was  not  religion, 
but  the  want  of  it,  that  made  him  wicked.  The 
Gospel  teaches  us  to  be  good ;  and  if  men 
would  obey  the  Gospel,  there  would  be  no  such 
bad  men  as  he  was.  At  the  time  of  his  death 
he  had  seen  almost  seventy  years,  more  than 
half  of  which  had  been  passed  among  the  In- 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  49 

dians  in  the  forests  of  America.  He  had  lived 
a  long  but  almost  a  useless  life."  . 

"  What  did  the  Indians  do,  now  that  Father 
Ralle  was  dead  ?" 

"  Many  of  them  were  frightened  so  that 
they  deserted  their  villages  and  retired  into  the 
woods.  They  still  kept  up  their  mischief,  though 
they  had  learned  to  be  still  more  cautious.  In 
the  mean  time,  the  success  of  Harman  and  Moul- 
ton  encouraged  the  white  people  to  go  out  in 
search  of  the  Indians,  and  to  ca*rry  on  the  war 
still  more  vigorously. 

"  Among  these  brave  men  there  was  one  who 
lived  at  Dunstable,  who  was  very  active,  and 
distinguished  himself  so  much  in  this  war  that 
his  name  was  connected  with  the  struggle,  and 
it  was  .called  LoveweWs  war.  I  must  tell  you 
of  this  brave  man. 

"  But  that  story  we  will  reserve  for  our  next 
conversation.  I  see  that  it  is  likely  to  rain,  and 
you  had  better  go  home  before  it  begins.  Good- 
by,  children." 

«  Good-by,  Uncle  Philip." 


50  HISTORY    OF 


CONVERSATION  m. 

Uncle  Philip  finishes  the  Story  aoout  LoveweWs  War — Paugua 
— Treaty  of  Peace — LovewelFs  Song. 

"  WELL,  Uncle  Philip,  we  have  come  again  to 
hear  you  tell  about  that  brave  man  who  carried 
on  the  war  against  the  Indians.  What  was  his 
name  1  Lovewell  1" 

"  Yes.  John  Lovewell  was  the  man.  He 
was  distinguished,  as  I  told  you,  by  his  success 
in  fighting  the  Indians,  and  you  will  hear  also 
that  his  misfortunes  made  him  remarkable. 

"  He  at  first  raised  a  company  of  thirty  men, 
and  made  an  excursion  to  Lake  Winnipiseogee. 
There  he  found  a  wigwam  which  contained  only 
an  Indian  man  and  boy.  They  killed  and 
scalped  the  man,  and  brought  the  boy  a  prisoner 
to  Boston,  where  they  received  the  promised 
bounty,  and  a  present  besides  farther  to  encour- 
age them.  His  company  was  now  increased, 
and  he  found  himself  in  command  of  seventy 
stout  and  brave  men. 

"  They  marched  again  to  the  same  place 
where  they  had  killed  the  Indian  two  months 
before,  and  found  his  body  as  they  had  left  it. 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  51 

In  a  little  time  their  provisions  began  to  fail, 
and  thirty  of  the  company  were  allowed  to 
return  home.  The  remaining  forty  continued 
their  march  till  they  fell  upon  an  Indian  trail  or 
track,  which  they  cautiously  followed  till  nearly 
sunset,  when  they  saw  the  smoke  of  a  fire  before 
them.  This  was  a  sign  that  a  party  of  Indians 
had  encamped  there  for  the  night." 
"  Did  they  discover  the  Indians,  sir  1" 
"  They  kept  themselves  concealed  till  mid- 
night, and  then  crept  forward  carefully  and  si- 
lently, and  found  ten  of  the  savage  foe  asleep 
around  the  fire,  which  they  had  kindled  upon 
the  bank  of  a  frozen  pond.  Lovewell  deter- 
mined to  make  sure  work,  and,  at  a  given  signal, 
five  of  his  men  fired,  and  each  shot  killed  an 
Indian.  The  others  immediately  sprang  upon 
their  feet,  and  were  all  shot  down  except  one, 
who  was  severely  wounded,  but  attempted  to 
make  his  escape  across  the  ice.  He  was  seized 
by  a  faithful  dog  belonging  to  the  party,  and 
held  fast-  until  he  could  be  despatched.  The 
work  was  done  in  a  few  minutes,  and  so  much 
injury  was  saved  to  the  colonies." 

"  That  was  very  fortunate,  Uncle  Philip." 
"  These  Indians  were  on  their  way  from  Can- 
ada with  ammunition,  and  blankets,  and  snow- 


52  HISTORY    OF 

shoes,  and  in  two  days  more  would  have  been 
down  upon  the  frontiers,  and  busy  at  their  sav- 
age work. 

"  In  honour  of  the  brave  captain,  this  pond  is 
called  LovewelPs  Pond.  It  is  situated  in  the 
town  of  Wakefield.  If  you  should  ever  visit 
that  spot,  you  will  hear  this  story  told  with  tri- 
umph, and  the  spot  will  be  pointed  out  to  you, 
as  it  was  to  Uncle  Philip,  where  the  poor  sav- 
ages slept  their  last  sleep. 

"  The  men  returned  to  Dover  proud  of  their 
success.  From  thence  they  went  to  Boston, 
where  they  were  gladly  received,  and  were  paid 
the  bounty  which  they  had  so  nobly  earned. 

"  Encouraged  by  this  success,  Lovewell  started 
again  with  forty-six  men.  With  this  body  of 
men  he  determined  to  attack  Pigwacket,  an  In- 
dian village  in  the  northern  part  of  the  state,  on 
the  Saco  River,  which  had  been  the  residence 
of  a  powerful  tribe,  and  which  they  still  occa- 
sionally inhabited." 

"  Pigwacket  is  not  on  the  map,  Uncle  Philip. 
Where  was  that  place  ?" 

"  If  you  will  look  in  Maine,  you  will  see  the 
town  of  Fryeburg  on  the  Saco.  That  is  now  the 
name  of  the  place." 

"  Yes,  sir ;  here  it  is." 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  53 

"  One  of  Lovewell's  men  fell  sick  on  the  way. 
So  he  built  a  stockade  fort,  and  left  the  sick 
man,  and  nine  more  to  take  care  of  and  pro- 
tect him. 

"  The  rest  of  the  party  marched  on  till  they 
came  to  a  pond,  about  twenty  miles  from  the 
fort,  and  there  they  stopped  for  the  night  upon 
its  shore.  Early  the  next  morning,  while  they 
were  at  their  prayers — for  some  of  these  men 
were  religious,  and  they  had  a  chaplain  with 
them — they  heard  the  report  of  a  gun.  They 
started  up,  and,  looking  out  over  the  pond,  they 
saw,  on  a  point  of  land  which  extended  into  the 
water,  a  single  Indian  standing  with  his  gun. 
He  was  nearly  a  mile  distant  from  them. 

"  They  had  been  alarmed  the  night  before  by 
noises  around  the  camp,  which  they  imagined 
was  made  by  the  Indians,  and  this  opinion  was 
now  strengthened.  They  suspected  that  this  In- 
dian wras  placed  there  to  decoy  them,  and  that 
they  should  find  a  body  of  the  enemy  somewhere 
in  the  vicinity. 

"  But  Lovewell  and  his  men  determined  to  do 
what  they  could,  and  they  started  to  go  round 
the  pond  and  seize  this  Indian.  To  be  ready 
for  action  if  they  should  meet  any  others,  they 
left  their  packs  among  the  bushes  near  where 


54  HISTORY    OF 

they  had  made  their  camp.  They  succeeded  in 
finding  the  Indian,  whom  they  shot  down  and 
scalped.  Then  they  returned  to  the  place  where 
they  had  left  their  packs." 

"  Did  they  find  any  more  Indians,  Uncle 
Philip  ?" 

"  While  they  were  gone  after  the  Indian,  as 
I  just  told  you,  two  parties  of  savages,  under  the 
command  of  Paugus  and  Wahwa,  who  had  been 
down  the  Saco,  had  followed  the  track  of  Love- 
well's  men,  and  found  their  packs  and  carried 
them  off.  These  Indians  had  found  out,  by 
counting  the  packs,  that  their  party  was  stronger 
than  the  white  men's,  and  they  concealed  them- 
selves near  by  to  wait  for  Lovewell's  return." 

"  Did  Lovewell  suspect  that  this  party  of  In- 
dians was  there  ?" 

"  Not  until  he  returned  and  found  that  their 
packs  were  gone.  While  they  were  searching 
for  them,  the  Indians  suddenly  sprang  out  from 
their  concealment,  shouting  horribly,  and,  rushing 
forward,  fired  into  the  party  of  white  men.  Love- 
well  and  his  men  returned  the  fire  bravely ;  but 
the  gallant  captain  and  eight  of  his  men  were 
killed  almost  immediately." 
^  "  Uncle  Philip,  that  was  a  sad  thing  for  the 
white  men." 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  55 

"  Several  Indians  fell  too ;  but,  having  a  larger 
number  of  men,  and  being  partially  concealed 
from  the  sight  of  the  English,  they  kept  up  the 
attack.  They  continued  to  fight  furiously,  and 
the  brave  whites  fell  one  after  another.  They 
were  almost  driven  into  the  pond,  but  still  they 
opposed  the  Indians,  as  if  determined  to  conquer 
or  die. 

"  The  battle,  my  children,  continued  from  ten 
o'clock  in  the  morning  till  nearly  nightfall,  be- 
fore the  savages  retired  and  left  the  dead  upon 
the  ground." 

"  That  was  a  hard  fight,  Uncle  Philip." 

"  Yes,  yes,  my  lad.  The  white  men  held  out 
during  the  day,  with  nothing  to  eat  and  no  time 
to  rest.  And  here  I  must  tell  you  that  I  think 
they  would  all  have  been  lost  after  Lovewell's 
death,  had  it  not  been  for  a  brave  man  named 
Wyman  who  was  with  them.  As  it  was,  only 
nine  of  the  company  escaped  unhurt,  and  they, 
with  many  of  the  wounded,  started  for  the  fort 
where  they  had  left  the  sick  man  just  as  the  moon 
was  rising.  One  poor  man  was  too  badly  wound- 
ed to  travel :  his  name  was  Robbins.  The  white 
men  were  therefore  forced  to  leave  him  behind ; 
and  I  have  read  that,  when  they  parted  with 
him,  Robbins  begged  that  they  would  load  his 


56  HISTORY    OF 

gun  and  lay  it  by  his  side,  that,  if  the  Indians 
returned,  he  might  have  one  more  shot  at  them." 

"  And  so  they  left  him,  sir  i" 

"  Left  him  among  the  dead.  They  then  re- 
turned to  the  fort,  but  it  was  entirely  deserted, 
and  the  men  gone  home." 

"  How  was  that,  sir  ?  Why  had  the  men  left 
the  fort  ?" 

"  In  the  beginning  of  the  fight,  one  of  Love- 
well's  men  deserted  and  fled  back  to  his  com- 
panions at  the  fort.  When  he  arrived  there,  he 
told  them  that  Lovewell  was  killed  and  his  men 
cut  off.  They  then  started  and  made  the  best 
of  their  way  home,  leaving  behind,  fortunately 
for  the  remnant  of  the  party,  a  quantity  of  pro- 
visions." 

"  Did  the  Indians  lose  many  of  their  number, 
Uncle  Philip1?" 

"  Yes ;  and  among  them  was  their  chief  Pau- 
gvs,  who  was  a  noted  man.  I  have  heard  an 
old  man  tell  how  he  fell,  but  I  have  never  seen 
the  story  in  any  history  of  that  battle,  and  I 
know  not  how  true  it  is.  I  will  tell  it  to  you  as 
the  old  man  told  it  to  me. 

"  *  Towards  the  latter  part  of  the  engagement, 
Paugus  went  to  the  pond  to  wash  his  gun,  which 
had  become  very  foul  by  continued  firing  through 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  57 

the  day.  Not  far  from  him  he  discovered  a 
white  man,  who  was  busy  cleaning  out  his  own 
gun.  They  saw  each  other,  and,  without  a 
word,  each  one  finished  washing  and  wiping  his 
gun,  and  then  began  to  load  with  powder  and 
ball.  It  was  evident  that  the  one  who  could 
load  the  quickest  would  have  the  first  shot  at 
the  other.  They  began  at  the  same  instant. 
Paugus  was  expert  with  the  gun,  as  all  Indians 
were.  They  watched  each  other  narrowly,  and 
it  was  very  doubtful  which  would  gain  the  first 
fire.  They  charged  with  powder  and  ball  al- 
most at  the  same  instant.  The  Indian  had  then 
to  prime  his  gun,  while,  fortunately,  the  white 
man's  gun,  in  loading,  had  been  primed  by  the 
charge  which  was  put  into  the  barrel.  The 
white  man  was  ready  a  moment  first.  He  raised 
his  gun,  and,  almost  as  soon,  Paugus  levelled  at 
him.  He  fired,  and  the  ball  passed  through  the 
heart  of  the  Indian,  who  leaped  into  the  air,  his 
gun  going  off  at  the  same  time,  and  fell  upon 
the  ground  dead.' ' 

"  And  the  white  man  escaped,  Uncle  Philip  1" 

"  Yes.  Paugus's  ball  whistled  by  him  in  the 
air  without  reaching  its  aim." 

"  That  was  very  fortunate,  sir." 

"  The  poor  remnant  of  Lovewcll's  party,  after 


58  HISTORY    OF 

refreshing  themselves  upon  the  provisions  they 
found  at  the  deserted  fort,  continued  their  march 
homeward.  Many  of  the  wounded  died  by  the 
way,  and  were  buried.  The  others,  after  en- 
during the  most  severe  hardships,  arrived  one 
after  another,  and  were  received  with  joy. 

"  After  they  reached  home,  a  party  of  men 
was  sent  out  to  bury  the  dead  j  but,  by  some  mis- 
take, they  did  not  succeed  in  finding  the  place. 
Soon  after  this,  another  company  from  Dunstable, 
under  the  command  of  Colonel  Tyng,  reached 
the  spot,  and,  finding  the  bodies  of  twelve  of  the 
brave  men,  they  buried  them,  and  cut  their 
names  upon  the  trees  which  stood  near  where 
the  battle  was  fought.  Twenty  years  ago  Uncle 
Philip  was  at  that  spot.  The  trees  were  still 
standing,  with  the  exception  of  one,  which  had 
decayed  and  fallen.  They  were  bruised  by  the 
balls,  many  of  which  had  been  cut  out,  and  the 
names  could  scarcely  be  read,  the  bark  having 
closed  and  grown  over  them.  The  party  from 
Dunstable  also  found  near  the  spot  three  Indian 
graves,  which  they  opened.  In  one  of  these 
they  discovered  the  body  of  Paugus" 

"  The  savages  had  gone  back  and  buried  him, 
Uncle  Philip !" 

"  Yes ;  and  left  the  white  men  unburied." 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  59 

"  Uncle  Philip,  I  think  these  men  deserved  a 
better  monument  than  the  old  trees." 

"  Undoubtedly  they  did.  For,  though  they 
were  surprised  and  cut  off,  the  expedition  was 
useful  to  the  colony.  So  bravely  and  perseve- 
ringly  had  the  white  men  fought,  that  the  In- 
dians became  alarmed,  and  deserted  their  village 
of  Pigwacket. 

"After  this,  children,  the  people  in  Massa- 
chusetts and  New-Hampshire  determined  to  send 
messengers  to  the  Marquis  de  Vaudreiul,  the 
governor  of  Canada,  to  request  that  he  would  no 
longer  aid  the  savages.  Three  men  were  there- 
fore chosen,  who,  after  a  long  and  severe  jour- 
ney, reached  Montreal,  and  there  met  the  French 
governor.  They  delivered  their  message  to  him ; 
but  he  denied  ever  having  given  assistance  or 
encouragement  to  the  Indians." 

"  Then,  Uncle  Philip,  he  told  a  falsehood." 

"  Surely  he  did,  and  these  messengers  proved 
it ;  for  they  had  with  them  the  letters  which  he 
had  written  to  Father  Halle,  which  had  been 
seized,  as  I  told  you  the  other  morning.  They 
showed  him  his  own  letters,  and  proved  him 
false  by  his  own  words." 

"  That  was  proof  enough,  Uncle  Philip." 

"  Yes,  but  they  had  more.     There  was  a  Mo- 


60  HISTORY    OF 

hawk  Indian  then  in  Montreal,  who  confessed 
that  De  Vaudreiul  had  given  him  arms  to  fight 
against  the  people  in  New-England." 

"  What  could  he  say  to  that,  sir  1" 

"  When  he  found  he  could  deny  it  no  longer, 
he  pretended  that  he  was  very  anxious  that 
peace  should  be  made  between  the  Indians  and 
the  English.  He  promised  to  do  what  he  could 
to  bring  this  about,  and  to  restore  the  captives 
who  were  in  the  hands  of  the  French.  He 
therefore  caused  several  Indians  to  meet  these 
messengers  at  Montreal  for  the  purpose  of  ma- 
king peace. 

"  The  messengers  told  them  that  they  had  no 
right  to  enter  into  a  treaty ;  but  that  the  Indians, 
if  they  were  anxious  to  put  an  end  to  the  war, 
could  go  to  Portsmouth  or  Boston,  and  there 
treat  with  the  white  men.'* 

"  Why  did  not  these  messengers  make  a  trea- 
ty, Uncle  Philip,  while  the  Indians  were  ready  ?" 

"  Because  they  had  no  authority  from  the  col- 
onies ;  and,  if  they  had  possessed  authority,  they 
would  not  have  yielded  to  the  conditions  which 
the  Indians  asked." 

"  What  were  the  conditions,  sir  ?" 

"  The  Indians  proposed  that  the  English  should 
abandon  all  Iheir  forta,  and  remove  their  settle- 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  61 

ments  one  mile  west  of  the  Saco  River ;  that 
they  should  rebuild  their  chapel  at  Norridgewock, 
and  restore  to  them  their  priest,  and  then  they 
would  be  brothers  again." 

"  Did  the  Indians  go  to  Portsmouth  to  make 
a  treaty  1" 

"  No ;  they  refused  to  go,  and  the  messengers 
returned  to  New-Hampshire  and  reported  what 
had  been  done.  Then  the  people  resolved  to 
carry  on  the  war,  and  began  to  raise  soldiers. 
At  the  same  time,  they  sent  to  the  King  of  Eng- 
land a  complaint  against  the  French  governor. 

"But,  my  children,  though  these  messengers 
had  failed  to  bring  the  Indians  to  peace,  a  cir- 
cumstance took  place  which  providentially  put 
an  end  to  the  \var." 

"  Let  us  hear  what  it  was,  Uncle  Philip  " 
"  There  were  two  Indian  prisoners  at  Boston 
when  the  messengers  came  back.  The  English, 
as  I  said,  began  to  make  preparations  for  carry- 
ing on  the  war,  and,  at  the  same  time,  allowed 
these  prisoners  to  visit  their  countrymen.  They 
reported  among  the  Indians  that  the  English 
were  getting  ready  to  fight ;  that  they  were  col- 
lecting arms,  and  ammunition,  and  provisions, 
and  were  determined  to  destroy  the  whole  In- 
dian tribe.  This  report  alarmed  the  IndianSj 
VOL.  ir. — F 


62  HISTORY    OF 

and  caused  them  to  beg  for  peace.  When  these 
two  prisoners  returned  to  Boston,  they  brought 
with  them  a  request  that  there  should  be  no  more 
war.  The  English  listened  to  this  request,  and, 
not  long  after  this,  a  large  number  of  Indians 
met  them  at  Boston,  and  another  treaty  of  peace 
was  made.  And  this  was  the  end  of  Lovewell's 
war." 

"  These  Indian  prisoners  did  the  English  some 
service,  Uncle  Philip." 

"  Yes ;  they  were  the  means  of  restoring  peace 
to  the  colony.  But  I  must  tell  you  that  some  of 
the  Indians  were  unwilling  to  make  peace.  At 
all  events,  they  determined  to  do  what  mischief 
they  could  before  the  treaty  was  completed.  The 
Indians  who  carried  away  the  family  of  Mr. 
Hanson,  as  I  told  you  yesterday,  threatened 
them,  when  they  left  Canada  to  return  home, 
that  they  would  go  again  and  make  them  pris- 
oners. 

"  A  party  of  Indians  went  to  Dover  to  carry 
this  threat  into  execution.  When  they  came 
near  the  house,  they  observed  some  people  at 
work  in  a  neighbouring  field,  and  they  concealed 
themselves  in  a  barn  till  it  was  dark  enough  to 
make  the  attack.  Two  women  passed  the  barn 
on  their  way  to  the  garrison,  and  had  but  just 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  63 

reached  a  place  of  safety,  when  the  Indians  fired, 
and  killed  one  man  and  wounded  another.  A 
third  man,  named  John  Evans,  received  a  slight 
wound  in  the  breast,  which  bled  very  freely. 
The  Indians  came  up  and  supposed  that  he  was 
dead.  They  stripped  him,  and  then  took  off  his 
scalp.  He  bore  the  paih  without  discovering 
any  signs  of  life,  though  all  the  while  in  his  per- 
fect senses.  He  feigned  to  be  dead  while  they 
turned  him  over,  struck  him  several  blows  with 
their  guns,  and  left  him. 

"  After  they  were  gone  he  rose  from  the 
ground,  and,  though  wounded,  and  weak  with 
the  loss  of  blood,  walked  towards  the  garrison 
until- he  met  some  of  his  friends,  who  came  out  to 
pursue  the  Indians.  They  conveyed  him  safely 
to  the  house." 

"  Did  he  get  well,  Uncle  Philip  ?" 

"Yes;  he  recovered  from  his  wounds,  and 
lived  to  be  an  old  man.  The  Indians  escaped 
with  one  captive,  whom  they  sold  in  Canada  to 
the  French." 

"  The  peace  put  an  end,  I  suppose,  sir,  to  these 
things  1" 

"  Yes.  The  Indians  submitted  to  the  treaty, 
and  the  people  of  New-Hampshire  enjoyed,  for 
a  season,  quiet  and  rest. 


64  HISTORY    OF 

"  Before  you  go,  my  children,  I  have  a  curious 
song  to  show  you,  which  was  written  more  than 
a  hundred  years  ago,  to  commemorate  the  bloody 
battle  in  which  Lovewell  lost  his  life.  For 
many  years  it  was  sung  at  all  the  parties  and 
merry-meetings  in  New-Hampshire  and  in  some 
parts  of  Massachusetts.  A  copy  of  this  song 
was  given  me,  a  number  of  years  since,  by  the 
old  man  who  showed  me  tne  battle-ground 
where  these  men  who  are  mentioned  here  lost 
their  lives.  Charles,  you  may  read  it,  and  we 
will  listen.  Here  it  is,  in  the  handwriting  of  the 
old  New-Hampshire  soldier." 

"LOVEWELL'S  FIGHT. 

• 

"  Of  worthy  Captain  Lovewell  I  purpose  now  to  sing, 
How  valiantly  he  served  his  country  and  his  king; 
He  and  his  valiant  soldiers  did  range  the  woods  full  wide, 
And  hardships  they  endured  to  quell  the  Indians'  pride. 

"  'Twas  nigh  unto  Pigwacket,  on  the  eighth  day  of  May, 
They  spied  a  rebel  Indian  soon  after  break  of  day  ; 
He  on  a  bank  was  walking,  upon  a  neck  of  land, 
Which  leads  into  a  pond,  as  we're  made  to  understand. 

"  Our  men  resolved  to  have  him,  and  travell'd  two  miles  round, 
Until  they  met  the  Indian,  who  boldly  stood  his  ground ; 
Then  speaks  up  Captain  Lovewell,  '  Take  you  good  heed,' 

says  he, 
'  This  rogue  is  to  decoy  us,  I  very  plainly  see. 

"'The  Indians  lie  in  ambush  in  some  place  nigh  at  hand, 
In  order  to  surround  us  upon  this  neck  of  land ; 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE  65 

Therefore  we'll  march  in  order,  and  each  man  leave  his  pack, 
That  we  may  briskly  fight  them  when  they  make  their  at- 
tack.' 

"  They  came  unto  this  Indian,  who  did  them  thus  defy, 
As  soon  as  they  came  nigh  him  two  guns  did  he  let  fly, 
Which  wounded  Captain  Lovewell,  and  likewise  one  man 

more, 
But  when  thie rogue  was  running  they  laid  him  in  his  gore. 

"  Then  having  scalp'd  the  Indian,  they  went  back  to  the  spot 
Where  they  had  laid  their  packs  down,  but  there  they  found 

them  not ; 
For  the  Indians  having  spied  them  where  they  them  down  did 

lay, 
Did  seize  them  for  their  plunder,  and  carry  them  away. 

"  These  rebels  lay  in  ambush,  this  very  place  hard  by, 
So  that  an  English  soldier  did  one  of  them  espy, 
And  cried  out '  Here's  an  Indian !'  With  that  they  started  out, 

•  As  fiercely  as  old  lions,  and  hideously  did  shout  *  - 

"  With  that  our  valiant  English  all  gave  a  loud  huzza, 
To  show  the  rebel  Indians  they  fear'd  them  not  a  straw; 
So  now  the  fight  began,  and  as  fiercely  as  could  be, 
The  Indians  ran  up  to  them,  but  soon  were  forced  to  flee. 

"  Then  spake  up  Captain  Lovewell,  when  first  the  fight  began, 
'  Fight  on,  my  gallant  heroes,  you  see  they  fall  like-rain;' 
Fo;  as  we  are  informed,  the  Indians  were  so  thick, 
A  mai:  ;ouLd  scarcely  fire  a  gun  and  not  some  of  them  hit. 

"  Then  did  the  rebels  try  their  best  our  soldiers  to  surrJund, 
But\hey  t^uld  not  accomplish  it,  because  there  was  a  pond 
To  which  our  men  retreated,  and  covered  all  the  rear. 
The  rogues  were  forced  to  flee  them,  although  they  skulk'd 
for  fear. 
ri.— 6 


66  HISTORY    OF 

"  Two  logs  there  were  behind  them,  that  close  together  lay: 
Without  being  discovered  they  could  not  get  away  : 
Therefore  our  valiant  English,  they  travell'd  in  a  row, 
And  at  a  handsome  distance,  as  they  were  wont  to  go. 

"  'Twas  ttn  o'clock  in  the  morning  when  first  the  fight  began, 
And  fiercely  did  continue  until  the  setting  sun ; 
Excepting  that  the  Indians,  some  hours  before  'twas  night, 
Drew  off  into  the  bushes,  and  ceased  a  while  £>  fight 

But  soon  again  returned,  in  fierce  and  furious  mood, 
Shouting,  as  in  the  morning,  but  yet  not  half  so  loud  ; 
For,  as  we  are  informed,  so  thick  and  fast  they  fell, 
Scarce  twenty  of  their  number  at  night  did  get  home  well. 

"  And  that  our  valiant  English  till  midnight  there  did  stay,      . 
To  see  whether  the  rebels  would  have  another  fray ; 
But  they  no  more  returning,  they  made  off  towards  their  home, 
And  brought  away,  their  wounded  as  far  as  they  could  come 

"  Of  all  our  valiant  English  there  were  but  thirty-four, 
And  of  the  rebel  Indians  there  were  about  fourscore ; 
And  sixteen  of  our  English  did  safely  home  return, 
The  rest  were  killed  and  wounded,  for  which  we  all  must 
mourn. 

"  Our  worthy  CAPTAIN  LOVEWELL  among  them  there  did  die  . 
They  killed  LIEUTENANT  ROBBINS,  and  wounded  good  young 

FRYE, 

Who  was  our  English  chaplain— he  many  Indians  slew, 
And  some  of  them  he  scalp'd  when  bullets  round  him  flew. 

'Young  FCLLAM,  too,  I'll  mention,  because  he  fought  so  well. 
Endeavouring  to  save  a  man,  a  sacrifice  he  fell. 
But  yet  our  gallant  Englishmen  in  fight  were  ne'er  dismay'd, 
But  still  they  kept  their  courage,  and  Wr MAN  captain  made— 

•Who  shot  the  old  chief  PAUGUS,  which  did  the  foe  defeat, 
Then  set  his  men  in  order,  and  brought  off  the  retreat ; 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  67 

And  braving  many  dangers  and  hardships  in  the  way, 
They  safe  arrived  at  Dunstable,  the  thirteenth  day  of  May. 

"  Come  all  ye  men  and  maidens,  and  listen  while  I  sing, 
Let  the  fame  of  Captain  Lovewell  around  the  land  to  ring; 
The  gallant  Lovewell  and  his  men,  who  the  Indian  rogues  did 

light, 
Who  killed  the  savage  PAUOUS,  and  put  the  rest  to  flight. 

"  Here's  a  health  unto  the  memory  of  that  valiant  English  band, 
Who  fought  and  bled  so  bravely  to  save  their  native  land: 
Here's  a  health  unto  their  memory,  and  let  the  toast  go  round ! 
The  name  of  Lovewell  and  his  men  is  a  right  joyful  sound !" 

"Very  well,  Charles;  you  have  read  it  dis- 
tinctly and  slowly.  Be  careful  of  the  manu- 
script, for  it  is  old  and  worn,  like  the  soldier 
who  wrote  it  off  in  such  a  bold  and  plain  hand." 

"  Uncle  Philip,  will  you  please  to  let  me  take 
it  home  and  copy  it  off?" 

"  Yes;  if  you  will  be  very  careful  with  it,  and 
return  it  to  me  to-morrow." 

"Thank  you,  Uncle  Philip.  I  will  bring  it 
back  as  whole  as  I  take  it" 


68  HISTORY    OF 


CONVERSATION  IV. 

Uncle  Philip  tells  the*  Children  of  what  he  thinks  of  M"r.  Went 
worth — Talks  about  Mr.  Burnet,  Mr.  Belcher,  and  Mr.  Dun- 
bar,  who  were  sent  to  the  Provinces  to  govern  them — The 
Throat  Distemper — Mr.  Belcher  dismissed,  and  Benning 
Wentworth  appointed  Governor  of  New-Hampshire. 

"  I  TOLD  you  that  Mr.  Shute  returned  to  Eng- 
land, and  that  Lieutenant-governor  Wentworth 
remained  ;  and  that  he  behaved  like  a  brave  man 
during  the  whole  of  Lovewell's  war  in  New- 
Hampshire.  And  yet,  boys,  this  man  Went- 
worth had  his  enemies.  He  had  troubles." 

"  Well,  Uncle  Philip,  will  you  let  me  say  one 
thing.  I  believe  there  is  no  man  so  good  but 
he  will  have  some  enemies,  and  none  so  wicked 
but  he  will  find  some  friends  in  this  world." 

"  That  is  true,  James,  always.  Mr.  Went- 
worth had  troubles  with  the  Assembly ;  but  these 
troubles  cannot  interest  you  much.  So  I  will  only 
tell  you  that  the  Assembly  became  so  much  dis- 
satisfied with  him,  that  the  members  became  anx- 
ious to  petition  that  their  state  might  be  joined 
with  Massachusetts.  And  I  think,  indeed,  that 
they  would  have  sent  a  request  of  this  sort,  if  a 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  69 

new  governor  had  not  been  appointed  just  at  this 
time.  This  new  governor,  too,  was  well  known 
in  New-Hampshire,  though  he  had  never  been 
there  in  his  life." 

"  Pray  what  was  his  name,  Uncle  Philip  ?" 

"  He  is  an  old  acquaintance  of  ours  also  ;  for 
I  think  we  talked  of  him  in  our  Conversations 
about  New-York  and  Massachusetts  too.  It  was 
William  Burnet." 

"  Surely,  sir,  I  remember.  He  was  governor 
of  New-York,  and  all  the  people  loved  him  very 
much." 

"  Yes  ;  they  lov^ed  him  in  Massachusetts  and 
in  New-Hampshire,  and  the  good  people  rejoiced 
when  they  heard  he  was  to  be  their  governor. 
And  when  he  arrived  in  Boston,  for  he  was  gov- 
ernor of  both  these  states,  Mr.  Wentworth  and 
several  other  citizens  went  from  Portsmouth  to 
meet  him.  But  the  joy  of  the  people  lasted  for 
a  very  short  time.  Mr.  Burnet  was  never  in 
New-Hampshire  more  than  once ;  for  he  died 
very  soon  after  his  appointment. 

"  His  successor  as  governor  was  Mr.  Belcher, 
of  whom  you  have  before  heard." 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  remember  Mr.  Belcher  was  gov- 
ernor of  Massachusetts." 

"  He  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  and  it 


70  HISTORY    OF 

was  thought  in  England  that  his  appointment  as 
governor  of  these  two  provinces  would  help  to 
settle  the  difficulties  at  that  time  existing  be- 
tween Parliament  and  Massachusetts. 

"  Mr.  Belcher  was  a  man  of  large  fortune,  and 
possessed  many  interesting  and  amiable  traits  of 
character.  He  was  frank  and  sincere,  warm  in 
his  attachments  to  his  friends,  and  possessed  a 
nice  sense  of  what  is  honourable  and  becoming 
the  gentleman." 

"  Uncle  Philip,  I  hope  he  did  not  quarrel  with 
Mr.  Wentworth." 

"  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  Governor  Belcher  dis- 
liked Mr.  Wentworth  very  much;  and  some 
think  that  he  treated  him  badly.  Be  this  as  it 
may,  one  thing  is  certain:  if  Wentworth  met 
with  unkind  treatment  from  him,  it  did  not  trou- 
ble him  long ;  for  he  died  soon  after  Belcher  be- 
came governor." 

"  Uncle  Philip,  what  was  the  cause  of  Mr. 
Belcher's  dislike  towards  Mr.  Wentworth  ?" 

"  It  was  said  that  Belcher  was  offended  with 
him  because,  before  his  appointment,  and  while 
it  was  uncertain  whether  he  would  be  selected  as 
governor  or  Colonel  Shute  sent  back,  Mr.  Went- 
woith  had  written  kind  and  complimentary  let- 
ters to  both.  Belcher  did  not  know  this  at  the 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  71 

time  of  his  first  visit  to  New-Hampshire,  and  had 
been  received  and  entertained  at  the  house  of 
.the  lieutenant-governor.  The  next  time  he  visit- 
ed Portsmouth  he  refused  an  invitation  to  Went- 
worth's  house.  From  that  time  he  continued  to 
show  displeasure  towards  him  in  various  ways. 

"  Wentworth,  as  I  told  you,  had  some  ene 
mies,  but  he  had  many  warm  friends,  who  la- 
mented his  death  very  much.  And  even  his  en- 
emies agree  in  saying,  that  in  many  things  he 
was  very  useful  to  New-Hampshire.  And  I 
must  again  remind  you,  children,  that  I  think  he 
was  a  brave  man  in  war,  and  in  peace  a  good 
governor." 

"  Uncle  Philip,  who  was  made  lieutenant-gov- 
ernor in  his  .place  1" 

"  He  was  succeeded  by  Colonel  Dunbar.  This 
man,  Dunbar,  was  very  much  disliked  by  Bel- 
cher, and  with  him  he  quarrelled  openly.  The 
fact  is,  my  children,  that  Dunbar  was  totally  un- 
fit for  the  office  to  which  he  had  been  appointed. 
The  only  qualifications  which  I  have  ever  heard 
urged  in  his  favour,  were  his  poverty  and  some 
little  interest  with  those  in  power.  He  was  ig- 
norant and  ambitious.  I  do  not  think  he  \^puld 
have  been  pleased  with  any  man  who  was  supe 
rior  to  him  in  office.  But  some  say  that  Mr 


72  HISTORY    OF 

Belcher  was  in  fault,  and  that  he  was  anxious  to 
have  as  much  power  as  possible. 

"  I  think  this  was  a  mistake ;  but  my  young 
friends  will  be  able  to  judge  for  themselves  be- 
tween these  two  men  as  we  proceed." 

"  Yes,  Uncle  Philip,  let  us  hear  more  about 
them." 

"  Dunbar,  before  he  was  made  lieutenant-gov- 
ernor, had  been  commander  of  the  fort  at  Pema- 
quid.  He  had  there  shown  the  cruelty  of  his 
disposition,  and  had  governed  the  few  scattered 
people  that  were  placed  under  him  with  so  much 
rigour  that  they  were  extremely  dissatisfied.  His 
cruel  conduct  had  also  been  known  to  Mr.  Belch- 
er, and  he  had  written  to  Dunbar,  complaining 
of  his  injustice  and  severity.  So.  here  was  the 
beginning  of  the  quarrel. 

"  Dunbar  was  no  sooner  made  lieutenant-gov- 
ernor than  he  began  to  talk  to  the  people  about 
Mr.  Belcher,  and  tell  them  that  he  was  cruel  and 
ambitious ;  that  he  wrould  not  make  them  a  good 
governor ;  and  many  more  improper  and  unkind 
charges  were  put  in  circulation.  Within  a  few 
weeks  after  his  arrival  at  Portsmouth,  he  went  so 
far  a^  to  draw  up  a  paper  and  obtain  signatures 
to  it,  which  stated  that  the  government  was  op- 
pressive, and  begged  the  king  to  remove  Belch- 
er from  office." 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  73 

"  What  did  the  king  say  to  this  petition,  Un- 
cle Philip  ?" 

"  Fortunately  for  Mr.  Belcher,  he  had  friends 
both  in  this  country  and  in  England.  A  petition 
was  drawn  up  in  his  favour  at  Portsmouth,  and 
signed  by  more  than  a  hundred  of  the  most  re- 
spectable citizens.  This  was  sent  to  England, 
and  his  friends  there  were  in  this  way  enabled 
to  contradict  what  Dunbar  had  said. 

"  After  this  these  two  men  disliked  each  other 
more  than  ever,  and  were  constantly  writing  let- 
ters to  England,  full  of  complaints  against  each 
other.  The  people  at  home  were  also  divided. 
Some  were  the  friends  of  Governor  Belcher,  and 
some  took  part  with  Mr.  Dunbar.  He  very  cun- 
ningly persuaded  the  people  that  Mr.  Belcher 
was  anxious  to  keep  the  governments  of  Massa- 
chusetts and  New-Hampshire  united,  while  he 
himself  was  in  favour  of  separating  them,  and 
making  New-Hampshire  an  independent  state 
by  itself.  This*  pleased  the  people ;  for  they 
were  willing  to  have  their  own  governor  to 
themselves.  In  this  way  you  see  how  Mr.  Dun- 
bar  endeavoured  to  destroy  the  influence  of  Mr. 
Belcher,  and  to  increase  his  own  popularity  and 
power." 

"  But,  Uncle  Philip,  I  thought  that  many  of 

VOL.  it. — P 


74  HISTORY    OF 

the  people  were  pleased  with  being  united  to 
Massachusetts." 

"  Sometimes  they  were,  it  is  true.  When  they 
were  in  trouble,  they  were,  of  course,  glad  to 
have  the  aid  of  the  other  state.  But  they  were 
more  anxious  to  have  their  own  governor,  and  to 
be  free  from  Massachusetts.  In  order  to  bring 
this  about,  it  was  necessary  that  the  boundary 
lines  between  the  two  provinces  should  be  set- 
tled ;  and  this  brought  on  another  dispute." 

"  Uncle  Philip,  was  Dunbar  in  favour  of  set- 
tling this  question  about  the  boundaries  ?" 

"  Yes ;  this  afforded  him  a  good  opportunity 
to  carry  forward  his  own  views  and  advance  his 
own  interests.  The  larger  part  of  the  people 
were  easily  persuaded  that  they  would  be  gain- 
ers by  settling  the  boundaries,  and  that  the  prov- 
ince would  have  more  land,  which  would  be 
divided  among  the  people.  New-Hampshire 
would  thus  become  a  larger  state,  and  more  able 
to  support  its  own  governor."  • 

"  What  did  Governor  Belcher  think  of  it,  sir  ?" 

"  His  friends  were  opposed  to  settling  the 
'boundaries  at  present,  because  they  said  that 
New-Hampshire  could  not  gain  anything  by  it, 
and  would  have  the  expenses  to  pay.     The  gov- 
ernor himself  was  required  by  the  king  and  Par- 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  75 

liament  to  do  what  he  could  to  have  this  business 
finally  determined.  He  had  frequently  recom- 
mended a  settlement  in  his  speeches,  but  could 
not  bring  it  about.  This  difficulty  continued  for 
several  years.  At  last  Dunbar  thought  that  he 
could  aid  his  designs  by  going  to  England  him- 
self. I  suppose  he  believed,  that  if  the  provin- 
ces were  separated  he  should  be  made  governor 
himself." 

"  Well,  Uncle  Philip,  did  he  go  to  England  1" 
"Yes;  and  when  he  arrived  there  with  his 
complaints,  he  was  immediately  taken  up  and 
thrown  into  prison  for  debt.  But  some  of  his 
friends  came  forward  and  obtained  his  release. 
He  remained  in  England  for  some  time,  making 
all  the  mischief  he  could  for  Mr.  Belcher." 

"  I  am  afraid,  Uncle  Philp,  that  Dunbar  was  a 
bad  man." 

"  Yes ;  and  so  Uncle  Philip  thinks.  He  cer- 
tainly showed  himself  very  ambitious  and  very 
troublesome.  And  one  thing  is  certain,  that, 
while  his  friends  supported  him,  they  had  no  con- 
fidence in  his  judgment  or  in  his  honesty." 
"  Why  did  they  support  him,  then-  ?"  * 

"His  friends  were  the  enemies  of  Governor 
Belcher,  and  they  were  willing  to  use  him  as  an 
instrument  in  opposing  him. 


76  HISTORY    OF 

"  But  now,  while  I  think  of  it,  let  me  tell  you 
of  something  remarkable  which  occurred  about 
this  time  (1735),  and  then  we  will  return  to  the 
story. 

"  There  -was  in  this  year  throughout  New- 
England  a  very  violent  disease,  commonly  called 
the  throat  distemper,  which  visited  most  of  the 
large  towns,  and  carried  off  a  great  number  of 
people,  especially  in  New-Hampshire. 

"  It  first  made  its  appearance  in  Kingston, 
New-Hampshire.  It  continued  to  spread  grad- 
ually in  that  town  through  the  summer ;  and  of 
the  first  forty  who  were  seized,  not  one  recover- 
ed. It  afterward  appeared  in  Exeter,  and  then 
at  Boston.  It  continued  its  ravages  for  more 
than  a  year,  and  carried  off  upward  of  a  thou- 
sand people  in  the  province." 

"  That  was  a  heavy  loss,  sir,  for  a  new  coun- 
try." 

"  It  was  indeed :  and  I  have  mentioned  this 
fact  merely  because  you  will  read  in  old  books 
which  tell  of  New-Hampshire  of  the  times  of 
the  throat  distemper.  Most  of  those  who  died 
•of  this  disease  were  children ;  and  it  is  sad  to 
read  how  some  families  lost  four  or  five  children 
in  a  single  day,  and  others  buried  all  they  had. 
At  Hampton  Falls  it  raged  the  most  violently. 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  -    77 

Twenty  families  buried  all  their  children,  and  in 
the  course  of  the  year  more  than  one  sixth  part 
of  all  the  inhabitants  died  of  this  distemper. 

"  This  disease  has  visited  the  people  several 
times  since,  tmt  never  as  severely  as  during  this 
year.  Arid  now  let  us  return  to  our  story. 

"  Some  tirne  before  Dunbar  went  out  to  Eng- 
land, he  became  weary  and  disgusted  with  the 
quarrels  and  difficulties  in  which  he  was  enga- 
ged, and  left  .New-Hampshire.  He  retired  to 
the  fort  at  Pemacuid,  where  he  resided,  in  a 
state  of  obscurity  >,  ^tr  two  years.  Afterward  he 
returned  to  Portsmouth,  and  began  his  opposition 
again.  Governor  Belcter  was  willing  to  please 
him,  and  gave  him  the  command  of  the  fort  there, 
which  afforded  him  a  considerable  salary.  But 
Dunbar  was  not  contented  with  this,  and  still 
complained.  I  must  tell  you  of  some  of  these 
complaints,  and  then  you  will,  see  the  injustice  of 
them. 

"  When  Dunbar  was  chosen  lieutenant-govern- 
or, he  was  also  made  what  was  called  '  Surveyor 
of  the  King's  Woods.'  " 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  that,  sir?" 

"  The  surveyor  had  the  care  of  the  king's  for- 
ests in  New-Hampshire.  There  were  large  pine- 
trees  growing  in  some  parts  of  the  province  very 


78  HISTORY    OP 

abundantly,  and  the  king  wished  them  to  be  pre- 
served for  ship-timber." 

"  Very  good,  sir ;  I  understand.  It  was  the 
duty  of  the  surveyor  to  take  care  that  no  one 
cut  this  timber."  • 

"Just  so.  The  people  were  not  very  well 
pleased  with  this  regulation  of  the  king's.  They 
wished  sometimes  to  cut  this  timber  for  their  own 
use ;  but  the  surveyor  had  the  right  to  seize  and 
carry  off  any  logs  which  he  could  £nd  that  were 
cut  without  license. 

"  Dunbar  was  very  cruel  in  the  exercise  of  his 
office  in  taking  care  of  this  timber. 

"  In  this  way  he  rais^.  a  spirit  of  opposition 
and  dislike  among  the  people.  He  visited  the 
saw-mills,  where  he  seized  and  marked  large 
quantities  of  lumber,  and  abused  and  threatened 
the  people  with  an  air  and  manner  to  which  he 
had  been  accustomed  while  a  military  officer. 

"  The  class  of  men  with  whom  he  had  to  deal 
were  not  easily  frightened  by  his  threats,  and  he 
often  found  himself  in  difficulty.  An  instance 
of  this  happened  at  Dover.  He  had  come  there 
with  a  number  of  men  to  remove  a  quantity  of 
boards  which  he  had  seized.  The  owner  of  the 
lumber  warned  him  of  the  consequences  if  he 
dared  to  touch  a  single  board.  Dunbar  threat- 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  79 

ened  to  shoot  dou  n  the  first  man  who  should  in- 
terfere to  hinder  him.  The  same  threat  was  re- 
turned to  the  first  man  who  dared  to  obey  Dun- 
bar's  orders  to  remove  the  lumber." 

"  What  was  the  result  of  the  dispute,  Uncle 
Philip  ?' 

"  For  once  Dunbar's  prudence  was  great 
enough  to  save  him,  and  he  was  forced  to  go 
back  without  the  lumber. 

"  On  another  occasion  he  sent  some  of  his 
men  to  Exeter  on  similar  business.  While  his 
men  were  regaling  themselves  in  the  evening  at 
a  public  house,  and  bpasting  of  what  they  intend- 
ed to  do  the  next  day,  some  of  the  citizens  were 
so  angry  that  they  dressed  themselves  like  In- 
dians, made  an  attack  upon  Dunbar's  men,  and 
gave  them  a  sound  beating;  they  then  seized 
the  boat  in  which  they  came  up  to  the  town,  cut 
the  rigging,  and  bored  holes  in  the  bottom.  The 
party,  finding  that  they  were  not  safe  on  the 
land,  made  good  their  retreat  to  the  boat,  and 
pushed  off.  But  they  found  that  they  were  not 
safe  on  the  water ;  and,  after  nearly  drowning, 
they  had  the  good  fortune  to  reach  the  shore 
again,  where  they  hid  themselves  till  morning, 
and  then  made  their  way  back  to  Portsmouth  on 
foot.  This  affair  enraged  Dunbar  very  much; 


80  HISTORY    OF 

and,  when  the  news  reached  Governor  Belcher, 
'  he  condemned  the  riot,  and  sent  out  a  proclama- 
tion, commanding  the  magistrates  to  assist  in  dis- 
covering and  securing  the  rioters.  And  yet,  my 
children,  after  all  this,  there  was  a  .complaint 
sent  to  England  against  Governor  Belcher,  sta- 
ting that  he  persuaded  the  citizens  of  Exeter  to 
make  that  riot.  Remember,  too,  this  complaint 
was  sent  long  after  the  disturbances  had  taken 
place." 

"  Well,  Uncle  Philip,  that  statement  was  false, 
I  suppose." 

"  False  in  every  line ;  for  the  complaint  was 
signed  by  five  names,  and  four  of  the  persons  de- 
nied ever  having  put  their  names  to  it,  and  the 
fifth  man  could  not  be  found :  in  fact,  there  was 
no  such  man  in  Exeter.  •;.  • 

"  Besides  this  foolish  and  unfounded  charge, 
several  other  complaints  were  sent  home  against 
Mr.  Belcher.  One  was,  that  he  did  not  keep  the 
forts  repaired  ready  for  war ;  another,  that  he 
very  seldom  visited  New-Hampshire." 

"  And  how  about  these  charges,  sir  ?" 

"  As  to  the  first,  he  could  not  repair  the  forts 
without  money,  and  there  was  none  in  the  treas- 
ury for  that  purpose ;  and  for  the  second,  it  was 
not  true  that  he  did  not  visit  New-Hampshire ; 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  81 

for  he  went  there  at  least  twice  every  year,  un- 
less prevented  by  sickness.  But,  though  all  these 
charges  were  false,  still  the  man  was  thought, 
even  by  the  king  himself,  to  be  guilty  of  cruelty 
and  neglect" 

"  Is  it  possible,'  Uncle  Philip  !" 

"  Yes,  my  lad,  it  is  not  only  possible,  but  true. 
And  very  soon  after  this,  to  make  matters  still 
more  oppressive  to  Governor  Belcher,  the  dis- 
pute between  New-Hampshire  and  Massachu- 
setts was  ended  in  favour  of  the  former." 

"  Well,  sir,  I  think  that  was  nothing  more  than 
justice ;  for  the  boundary-line  ought  to  have  run 
Ihree  miles  north  of  the  mouth  of  the  Merrimack 
River.  You  know  we  talked  of  that  before." 

"  Yes,  Thomas,  that  was  all  just  and  right,  as 
it  seems  to  me ;  but  still  I  feel  sorry  when  I  think 
of  Mr.  Belcher.  The  poor  man  soon  after  this 
sent  a  petition  to  England,  asking  that  New- 
Hampshire  and  Massachusetts  might  still  be  uni- 
ted." 

"  Was  it  granted,  sir  ?" 

"No;  it  was  refused.  Still,  children,  with 
all  these  disappointments,  this  man  remained 
faithful  to  King  George.  For,  when  England 
was  just  at  this  time  engaged  in  war  with  Spain, 
he  made  strong  efforts  to  raise  soldiers  in  his 
TI.—  7 


82  HISTORY    OF 

provinces  to  aid  the  English.  Indeed,  he  did 
raise  the  soldiers ;  but  the  king  did  not  send  the 
arms  and  clothing  which  he  promised,  so  these 
men  were  unable  to  serve  him.  And  at  length, 
my  children,  in  spite  of  all  this,  the  king  \vas 
persuaded,  by  the  falsehoods  of  Belcher's  ene- 
mies, to  think  him  a  bad  governor  and  a  dishon- 
est man." 

"  Well,  Uncle  Philip,  I  am  sorry  for  Governor 
Belcher." 

"  Yes ;  he  had,  through  all  the  settlement  of 
the  vexing  questions  between  Massachusetts  and 
New-Hampshire,  a  difficult  part  to  act.  He  was 
placed  at  the  head  of  the  two  rival  provinces. 
He  had  friends  in  both ;  but  they,  of  course, 
took  care  of  their  own  as  well  as  of  the  public 
interests.  He  had  also  enemies  in  both,  who 
were  watching  him  eagerly,  ready  to  lay  hold 
on  any  mistake  or  imprudence  of  his,  and  to 
magnify  it  into  a  great  error  or  crime,  much  to 
his  disadvantage. 

"  He  was  anxious  to  remain  governor,  and  to 
discharge  his  duties  with  credit  and  honour  to 
himself,  and  with  advantage  to  the  provinces. 
But  his  enemies  were  endeavouring  to  remove 
him  from  his  office.  And  what  rendered  his  sit- 
uation still  more  embarrassing,  was  the  fact  that 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  83 

the  same  persons  were  busy  in  trying  to  accom- 
plish his  removal  and  to  settle  the  boundary- 
line  ;  so  that,  in  his  efforts  to  oppose  the  arts  of 
his  enemies  in  seeking  his  removal,  he  was  likely 
to  seem  to  oppose  their  efforts  in  settling  the 
boundary  question." 

"  How  did  it  finally  end,  Uncle  Philip  1" 
"It  resulted  in  Mr.  Belcher's  being  displaced ; 
and  William  Shirley  was  made  governor  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, and  Benning  Wentworth  governor  of 
New-Hampshire." 

"  Then,  sir,  Massachusetts  and  New-Hamp- 
shire were  again  separated  ?" 
«  Yes." 

"  Uncle  Philip,  was  this  Mr.  Wentworth  any 
relation  to  Governor  Wentworth,  of  whom  we 
have  talked  1" 

"  He  was  the  son  of  that  man." 
"  And  what  became  of  Dunbar  ?" 
"  He  went  to  England,  as  I  told  you,  hoping, 
in  case  of  the  separation  of  the  two  provinces, 
to  be  made  governor  of  New-Hampshire.    While 
there,  he  helped  to  keep  up  the  opposition  to 
Mr.  Belcher,  and  was  used  for  such  purposes  by 
Mr.  Belcher's  enemies  till  his  removal  was  ac- 
complished.    After  that  he  was  appointed  by  the 
East  India  Company  governor  of  S',.  Helena- 


84  HISTORY    OF 

We  will  now  go  on  with  Mr.  Wentworth's  ad- 
ministration,  for  we  have  nothing  to  do  with 
Mr.  Shirley.  I  have  already  talked  of  him  in 
our  History  of  Massachusetts."* 

"  Well,  Uncle  Philip,  excuse  me  for  interrupt- 
ing you,  but  I  do  think  that  man  Belcher  an  ex- 
cellent governor." 

"  You  are  right,  my  lad ;  and  I  am  pleased 
that  he  was  not  only  a  good,  pious  man  and  a 
faithful  governor,  but  also  that  he  was  an  Amer- 
ican by  birth.  And  I  have  no  doubt  but  that 
King  George  himself  afterward  felt  sorry  for  his 
own  conduct.  For,  when  Mr.  Belcher  returned 
to  England, he  found  many  enemies;  but  still  he 
was  able  to  persuade  most  people  that  his  ene- 
mies in  America  had  not  spoken  the  truth  or 
done  him  justice.  Among  others,  he  persuaded 
the  king  of  the  fact.  So  King  George  then 
promised  that  he  would  make  him  governor,  so 
soon  as  he  could,  in  some  one  of  the  American 
provinces." 

"  Ah,  Uncle  Philip,  I  like  that.  I  am  glad  to 
see  the  king,  when  he  had  acted  unjustly,  try  to 
repair  the  wrong." 

"  Yes,  Mary,  King  George  acted  honourably 
and  well  in  this  particular." 

*  See  Uncle  Philip'8  History  of  Massachusetts. 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  85 

.   "  Was  Mr.  J3elcher  made  governor  again  ?" 

"  Yes  j  the  first  vacancy  happened  in  the  State 
of  New-Jersey,  and  the  king  sent  him  out'  there. 
You  will  hear  of  him  again  when  we  talk  of  the 
history  of  that  state." 

VOL.    II. — H 


86  HISTORY    O 


CONVERSATION  V. 

Uncle  Philip  tells  the  Children  about  Mr.  Wentworth—  Cap 
ture  of  Louisburg — Reduction  of  Canada — People  who  are 
particular — Captain  Stevens — Indian  Warfare. 

"  MR.  WENTWORTH  was  a  native  of  Ports- 
mouth, New-Hampshire,  and,  as  I  told  you 
yesterday,  was  the  son  of  Lieutenant-governor 
Wentworth.  He  had  been  absent  from  America 
for  a  number  of  years  previous  to  his  appoint- 
ment as  governor.  Upon  his  arrival  at  Ports- 
mouth he  was  received  with  great  respect.  He 
found,  among  the  old  friends  of  his  father,  many 
who  seemed  willing  and  anxious  to  make  him 
happy,  and  assist  him,  as  far  as  in  their  power, 
in  securing  a  prosperous  administration.  But  he 
had  no  very  peaceable  times." 

"  How  was  that,  Uncle  Philip  ?" 

"  Soon  after  bis  arrival  a  war  commenced  be- 
tween England  and  France.  Do  you  remember 
of  our  talking,  in  our  Conversations  about  New- 
York  and  Massachusetts,  of  the  war  which  broke 
out  in  1744,  and  which  was  called  the  war  of 
the  '  Austrian  succession  1'  * 

"  Oh  yes,  sir,  I  remember  it.     It  was  be- 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  87 

tween  King  George  the  Second  and  the  Emperor 
Louis  the  Fifteenth  ;  and  I  remember  also  that  it 
was  during  that  war  that  Sir  William  Pepperel 
took  the  city  of  Louisburg  from  the  French,  and 
that,  to  reward  him  for  his  bravery,  he  was  made 
something — I  forget  what  you  call  it — by  the 
King  of  England." 

"You  mean  a  'Baronet  of  England;'  and 
this  was  the  war  which  commenced  not  long  af- 
ter Mr.  Wentworth  came  into  the  country.  And, 
while  I  think  of  it,  let  me  tell  you  that  I  be- 
lieve Governor  Shirley  deserves  great  credit  for 
the  capture  of  Louisburg  ;  for  he  was  the  man 
who  planned  the  expedition.  You  will  bear  in 
mind,  too,  that  most  of  the  colonies  aided  in  this 
undertaking.  Mr.  Wentworth  and  the  State  of 
New-Hampshire  bore  their  part.  There  was  one 
man,  named  Vaughan,  a  son  of  the  old  lieutenant- 
governor,  who  was  very  brave,  and  aided  much 
in  the  enterprise.  Sir  William  Pepperel  was  at 
the  time  living  in  Kittery,  and  was  chosen  from 
the  State  of  New-Hampshire  to  command  the 
forces." 

"  Then,  Uncle  Philip,  New-Hampshire  did 
bear  her  part  well,  if  she  gave  the  commander 
and  gave  soldiers  also." 

"  Yes,  yes;  and,  as  I  have  before  told  you  the 


88  HISTORY    OF 

particulars  of  this  undertaking,  I  shall  not  now 
repeat  them,  but  only  remind  you  that  Ducham- 
bon,  the  French  governor  of  Cape  Breton,  sur- 
rendered the  city,  and  that  the  people  of  Amer- 
ica were  very  proud  of  Pepperel's  success,  while 
the  English  were  surprised  at  it ;  for  the  French 
had  made  Louisburg  their  strongest  town  in 
America.  Of  the  troops  engaged  in  this  expedi- 
tion, five  hundred  were  from  New-Hampshire." 

".  Uncle  Philip,  I  should  like  to  ask  why  the 
French  had  taken  so  much  pains  to  fortify  Louis- 
burg.  Was  it  a  place  of  great  trade,  or  of  any 
importance  in  that  way  ?" 

"  It  was  the  situation  of  Louisburg  that  gave 
it  its  chief  importance.  The  Island  of  Cape 
Breton  is  cold,  mountainous,  and  rocky,  and  the 
soil  poor  and  unproductive.  On  one  side  of  the 
island  are  a  number  of  fine  bays  and  harbours, 
capable  of  receiving  and  securing  vessels  of  any 
size.  The  island  is  situated  so  as  to  be  advan- 
tageous at  that  time  to  French  commerce.  After 
the  French  had  yielded  Nova  Scotia  and  New- 
foundland to  Great  Britain,  this  place  became 
valuable  to  them,  as  it  was  the  only  position 
which  they  held  on  the  coast  which  gave  securi- 
ty to  their  navigation  and  fishery.  It  was  for 
this  purpose  that  they  built  up  Louisburg,  and 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  89 

surrounded  it  with  such  fine  fortifications.  The 
French  were  twenty-five  years  in  completing 
these  works,  and  had  expended  upon  them  a 
large  sum  of  money." 

"  And,  after  all,  the  Americans  took  possession 
of  them,  Uncle  Philip?" 

"  Yes ;  and  so  joyful  and  proud  were  they  of 
their  success,  that  they  thought  of  making  an 
attempt  to  reduce  Canada.  Do  you  recollect 
that?" 

"  Oh  yes,  Uncle  Philip ;  that  is  all  in  our 
New-York  History,  and  I  know  all  about  it." 

"  Well,  Thomas,  let  us  hear,  then,  all  about 
it.  It  is  often  a  very  profitable  employment  to 
think  over  what  we  have  heard  or  read." 

"  Why,  Uncle  Philip,  you  know  all  about  it 
without  my  telling  you." 

"  Perhaps  so ;  but  I  am  very  fond  of  hearing 
children  talk  when  they  talk  sensibly.  So  let  us 
hear  what  you  have  to  say." 

"  But,  Uncle  Philip,  before  Thomas  begins,  I 
hope  you  will  excuse  me  for  saying  one  thing." 

"  Cetainly,  Mary,  I  will." 

"  I  was  going  to  say  that  you  put  me  so  much 
in  mind  of  my  grandfather ;  for  he  used  to  call 
Robert  and  myself  every  night,  and  ask  us  about 

the  books  we  had  been  reading ;  and  he  used  to 

ii.— 8  ' 


90  HISTORY    OF 

make  us  tell  him  what  was  written  in  the  books, 
and  whether  we  believed  all  that  was  in  them. 
And  I  remember  that  he  once  told  Robert,  that 
all  the  reading  in  the  world  would  not  make  him 
wise,  unless  he  thought  and  reflected  upon  what 
he  read.  And  he  asked  these  questions,  he  said, 
that  he  might  be  sure  that  we  thought  of  the 
things  we  were  reading.  And,  Uncle  Philip,  I 
will  tell  you  the  truth  about  it.  I  thought  my 
grandfather  a  very  particular  old  gentleman,  but 
a  very  kind  one." 

"  And  I  hope  he  thought  you  a  very  particular 
little  girl  in  reading  and  remembering  what  you 
read." 

"  He  used  to  say,  sir,  that  I  remembered  tol- 
erably well." 

"Well,  let  me  tell  you  what  I  think  about 
people  we  generally  call  particular.  I  think 
they  are  generally  the  wisest  and  best  people  of 
my  acquaintance.  Old  Mr.  King,  in  the  village, 
is  called  particular,  because  he  will  call  his  fam- 
ily together  morning  and  evening,  and  read  a 
chapter  in  the  Bible,  and  then  read  prayers. 
And  perhaps  you  have  all  heard  poor  old  Mrs. 
Lane  called  particular,  because  she  always  will 
take  her  seat  in  the  church  before  the  minister 
begins  to  read  the  service.  She  may  be  called 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  91 

particular,  too,  because,  storm  or  shine,  warm  or 
cold,  she  is  always  at  church,  as  surely  as  Sun- 
day comes  round  and  the  bell  calls  us  to  the 
house  of  God.  And  so,  Mary,  you  call  your 
grandfather  particular,  and  I  hope  he  was  so ; 
for,  children,  I  call  this  duty.  No  man  can  be 
too  particular  in  performing  his  duty,  first  to  God, 
and  then  to  man ;  and,  my  little  girl,  your 
grandfather  was  performing  his  duty  towards 
you  when  he  asked  you  those  questions." 

"  Yes ;  but,  Uncle  Philip,  people  are  sometimes 
particular  about  trifles." 

"  True ;  and  when  people  are  particular  about 
things  that  are  really  trifles,  they  are  very  disa- 
greeable. But  remember  that  no  matters  of 
duty,  however  small,  are  ever  trifles.  But  those 
who  care  so  much  for  trifles  are  not  the  people 
whom  the  world  commonly  calls  particular.  A 
foolish  young  man,  who  is  made  very  unhappy 
unless  his  clothes  are  precisely  of  a  certain  style 
or  fashion,  and  fit  him  just  so  nicely,  or  a  little 
girl  who  is  made  sad  because  she  has  not  a  new 
dress  at  a  certain  time  or  of  the  latest  style,  is, 
to  your  Uncle  Philip,  very  disagreeable  and  par- 
ticular. Yet  people  do  not  think  them  half  so 
strange  and  disagreeable  as  they  think  old  Mr. 
King,  because  he  has  some  good  oldfashioned 


92  HISTORY    OF 

notions  about  religion  and  the  Christian  educa 
tion  of  his  family.  I  wish  you,  therefore,  to  see 
how  improperly  the  world  sometimes  judges,  and 
to  teach  you  all,  my  dear  children,  not  to  let  the 
opinions  of  the  world  serve  always  as  your  guide. 
The  opinion  of  the  world  is  to  be  regarded  when 
it  does  not  disagree  with  the  Word  of  God.  I 
need  not  tell  you,  that  when  it  does  not  agree 
with  God's  "Word,  neither  you  nor  Uncle  Philip 
has  any  right  to  follow  it. 

"  And  now  tell  me,  Mary,  which  do  you  think 
most  particular,  old  Mr.  King,  or  the  foolish 
young  man  who  thinks  so  much  of  4iis  dress  and 
appearance "?" 

"  Why,  I  think  the  young  man  is,  because  he 
is  particular  about  trifles." 

"  Yes,  he  is  always  thinking  and  caring  for 
things  of  very  little  importance,  and  the  old  gen- 
tleman is  punctual  and  anxious  about  matters  of 
duty.  That  makes  the  difference  between  them. 
And  now,  Thomas,  we  will  hear  you." 

"  Then,  Uncle  Philip,  I  remember  that,  after 
the  capture  of  Louisburg,  almost  all  the  Ameri- 
cans were  anxious  to  reduce  Canada.  And  I  re- 
member, too,  that  Governor  Shirley  sent  to  Eng- 
land for  assistance,  and  it  was  promised.  An 
English  fleet  to  aid  them  were  to  join  the  Amer- 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  93 

ican  forces  at  Louisburg,  and  then  they  were  to 
go  up  the  river  St.  Lawrence." 

"  Very  good  ;  and  do  you  remember  anything 
of  Governor  Clinton  ?" 

"  Oh  yes,  sir ;  he  was  governor  of  New-York 
at  that  time,  and  he  was  to  march  against  the 
French  at  Crown  Point  and  Montreal,  and  he 
had  the  Six  Nations-  of  Indians  to  help  him,  Un- 
cle Philip." 

"  Very  good  indeed ;  and  now  I  will  tell  you 
something  more.  Letters  came  from  England 
to  the  governors  of  the  different  provinces,  ur- 
ging them  to  aid  in  this  attack  upon  Canada 
In  New-Hampshire,  Governor  Wentworth  caused 
eight  hundred  men  to  be  raised  for  this  purpose. 
In  addition,  vessels  and  provisions  were  prepa- 
red, and  the  men  waited  all  the  summer  for  the 
word  to  start  on  their  expedition.  You  see, 
therefore,  that  this  state  was  not  behind  the  oth- 
ers. Now  go  on,  Thomas." 

"  The  forces  from  England  did  not  come  over 
us  was  expected,  and  so  the  Americans  were 
disappointed.  And  then  they  determined  to  un- 
dertake an  attack  by  themselves  ;  but  just  then 
the  Duke  d'Anville,  a  Frenchman,  reached  Nova 
Scotia  with  one  thousand  men,  and  this  caused 
them  to  abandon  the  enterprise." 


94  HISTORY    OF 

"Very  true;  and  you  may  remember  that 
D'Anville  soon  died  ;  the  French  fleet  met  with 
a  storm,  and  few  of  the  vessels  returned  to  France. 
After  that  another  French  fleet  was  sent  out, 
which  was  captured,  and  then  the  French  seemed 
disappointed,  and  unwilling  to  send  more  ships 
very  soon." 

"  Yes,  yes,  Uncle  Philip ;  and  I  remember  that 
a  treaty  was  made  in  that  German  town — " 

"  Aix  la  Chapelle,  you  mean." 

"Yes,  sir.  That  treaty  put  an  end  to  the  war  j 
but,  before  that  treaty  was  made,  the  French  and 
Indians  did  much  injury  in  New-York  and  on  the 
frontiers." 

"  Yes,  and  they  did  more  in  New-Hampshire. 
They  attacked  almost  all  the  towns  in  the  east- 
ern and  western  parts  of  the  state.  Forts  were 
established  along  the  frontier,  and  scouting  par- 
ties were  continually  out  to  discover  and  repel 
the  enemy ;  but  yet  it  was  hardly  possible  for  the 
scattered  population  to  be  secure. 

"  The  danger  to  which  the  poor  people  were 
exposed  prevented  their  cultivating  their  lands ; 
and,  even  when  their  crops  were  ripe,  they  dared 
not,  in  some  places,  go  out  to  secure  them.  Their 
cattle  and  horses  were  carried  off  or  else  killed, 
and  their  flesh  cut  off  for  food  by  the  foe.  The 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  95 

people  lived  generally  in  fortified  houses,  and 
never  were  safe  when  they  went  out,  either  for 
labour  or  to  attend  church,  unless  they  were 
armed." 

"  Did  they  go  armed  to  church,  Uncle  Philip  1" 

"  Yes ;  and  these  precautions  sometimes  saved 
many  lives.  At  Penacook  a  party  of  Indians 
concealed  themselves,  intending  to  attack  the 
people  while  they  were  assembled  for  public  wor- 
ship on  Sunday ;  but  they  saw  that  they  were 
armed,  and  they  waited  till  the  next  morning. 
They  then  killed  five,  and  carried  away  two 
prisoners." 

"  Where  is  Penacook,  sir  1  I  do  not  find  such 
a  place." 

"  Penacook  is  the  old  Indian  name  of  the  town 
of  Concord." 

"  Were  the  Indians  so  bold  as  to  venture 
down  into  that  part  of  the  state  ?" 

"  If  was  not  venturing  much  at  that  time ;  for, 
though  the  country  now  is  thickly  settled,  at  that 
period  the  place  where  the  beautiful  town  of 
Concord  now  stands  was  a  wilderness. 

"  Near  to  Concord,  or  Penacook  as  it  was  then 
called,  was  the  settlement  at  Hopkinton.  A  par- 
ty of  Indians  came  down  to  this  place  and  took 
some  prisoners.  A  number  of  persons  were  re- 


96  HISTORY    OP 

siding  in  a  garrisoned  house,  and  thought  them 
selves  entirely  safe.  But  it  happened  one  morn- 
ing that  one  of  the  »en  went  out  very  early  to 
hunt,  while  his  companions  were  still  asleep,  and 
left  the  door  unfastened.  The  Indians  were  on 
the  watch,  and  entered  the  house,  and  made  pris- 
oners of  eight  persons,  whom  they  carried  to 
Canada. 

"  But  I  cannot  tell  you  now  of  all  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  New-Hampshire  people  during  this 
war.  Scarcely  a  town  escaped  an  attack,  ex 
cept  those  in  -the  vicinity  of  Portsmouth,  where 
the  settlements  were  larger  and  nearer  each 
other.  I  will,  however,  tell  you  of  one  of  the 
conflicts  of  the  people  with  the  Indians,  because 
a  brave  man  by  the  name  of  Stevens  opposed 
them,  and  distinguished  himself  very  much.  The 
place  they  attacked  was  a  village  in  the  western 
part  of  the  state,  on  the  Connecticut  River,  call- 
ed Number  Four.  Stevens  was  there  with  thirty 
men  to  defend  the  place." 

"  Stop,  if  you  please,  for  one  moment,  sir. 
Where  is  that  village  ?  It  has  a  singular  name." 

"  It  is  now  called  Charlestown ;  and,  if  you 
will  look  in  Sullivan  county,  you  will  see  it 
You  will  learn  presently  how  it  received  its  new 
name. 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  97 

*  It  was  in  the  last  part  of  March  of  this  year 
(1746)  that  Captain  Stevens  came  to  this  place. 
He  had  not  been  there  many  days  when  he  was 
attacked  by  a  large  party  of  French  and  Indians, 
commanded  by  a  man  named  Debeline.  The 
barking  of  the  dogs  first  discovered  to  Stevens 
that  the  enemy  were  near.  They  therefore 
closed  the  gates  and  prepared  for  defence.  A 
man  was  sent  out  to  find  where  and  who  they 
were,  and  was  fired  upon,  and  returned  to  the 
fort  slightly  wounded.  The  enemy,  finding  that 
they  were  discovered,  rose  from  their  conceal- 
ment, and  fired  upon  the  fort  from  all  sides.  The 
wind  was  high,  and,  in  order  to  drive  the  Eng- 
lish out,  the  French  set  fire  to  the  fences  and  log 
houses,  and  surrounded  the  fort  with  flames. 
Stevens  took  care  to  keep  water  at  hand  to  put 
out  the  flames  should  they  reach  the  walls  of  the 
fort ;  but,  fortunately,  the  fire  did  not  reach  them. 

"  Debeline  finding,  after  two  days  of  this 
kind  of  attack,  that  they  could  accomplish  no- 
thing, and  that  Stevens  and  his  brave  men  were 
not  frightened  by  the  savage  shouts  of  the  In- 
dians, prepared  a  cart,  which  was  loaded  with 
dry  fagots  and  set  on  fire." 

"  What  was  that  for,  Uncle  Philip  ?" 

"  They  intended  to  push  this  cart,  by  means 

VOL.    II. —  I 


98  HISTORY    OF 

of  long  poles,  close  to  the  fort,  and  bum  them 
out.  But,  before  they  did  this,  the  French  com-* 
mender  came  up  with  a  flag  of  truce,  and  asked 
a  parley  with  Captain  Stevens.  They  proposed 
that  Stevens  should  giVe  up  a  quantity  of  pro- 
visions, and  then  surrender  themselves  prisoners." 

"  Uncle  Philip,  I  know  that  the  English  would 
not  yield  on  such  terms." 

"  You  are  right,  my  lad ;  they  refused  it  alto- 
gether. The  Frenchman  then  wished  to  see 
Stevens  himself.  He  threatened  him  that  he 
would  take  the  fort  and  kill  every  man  ;n  it  if 
he  did  not  surrender.  'Stevens  was  not  to  be 
alarmed  with  such  threats,  and  he  told  the  French- 
man that  he  would  defend  the  fort  till  the  last 
extremity.  The  Frenchman  then  told  him  to 
*  Go  and  see  if  your  men  dare  to  fight  any  long- 
er, and  give  me  a  quick  answer.' 

"  Stevens  asked  his  men  whether  they  would 
fight  or  surrender.  They  determined,  every  man 
of  them,  to  fight.  When  Debeline  was  inform- 
ed of  this  determination,  he  ordered  his  men  to 
renew  their  firing  and  shouting,  which  they  kept 
up  all  that  day  and  night. 

"  The  next  morning  they  proposed  that  they 
would  withdraw  if  Stevens  would  sell  them  some 
provisions.  He  refused  to  do  that;  and  they, 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  99 

finding  that  they  could  not  conquer  the  English- 
men in  their  fort,  departed." 

"  Well,  Uncle  Philip,  they  did  not  accomplish 
much.  Were  there  any  killed  in  the  fort  ?" 

"  Not  a  life  was  lost,  and  only  two  men  were 
wounded.  Stevens  immediately  sent  news  of  his 
escape  to'Boston,  and  it  was  received  with  great 

joy." 

"  And  now,  Uncle  Philip,  tell  us  about  chan- 
ging the  name  of  the  town." 

"  I  had  almost  forgotten  that.  There  was  an 
English  officer  at  that  time  in  America  whose 
name  was  Sir  Charles  Knowles.  Sir  Charles  was 
so  pleased  with  the  bravery  and  good  conduct  of 
Captain  Stevens,  that  he  presented  him  with  an 
elegant  and  valuable  sword.  From  this  cir- 
cumstance, when  the  town  was  incorporated, 
the  name  was  changed  from  Number  Four  to 
Charlestown,  in  honour  of  Sir  Charles. 

"  There  were  a  great  many  other  instances  of 
bravery  among  the  people  of  New-Hampshire 
while  this  war  was  going  on,  and  a  great  deal 
of  suffering,  too.  1  cannot  tell  you  all ;  but  one 
thing  I  must  say — and  it  is  much  to  the  credit  of 
the  Indian  tribes — and  that  is,  that  they  did  not 
murder  and  torture  their  prisoners  during  this 
war  as  they  used  to  do  formerly.  Those  of  the 


100  HISTORY    OP 

captives  who  survived  and  returned  from  Cana- 
da, bore  their  testimony  in  favour  of  the  human- 
ity of  the  Indians.  When  feeble,  they  assisted 
them  in  travelling ;  and,  in  cases  of  distress  from 
want  of  provisions,  the  Indians  shared  with  the 
captives  an  equal  proportion. 

"  This  was  far  different  from  the  treatment 
which  the  Indians  exercised  towards  their  prison- 
ers on  former  occasions.  If  they  were  unable  to 
travel,  they  used  to  murder  them.  If  there  were 
children  that  gave  them  trouble,  they  coolly  dash- 
ed them  against  a  tree  or  a  stone ;  and,  when  the 
poor  prisoners  arrived  at  Canada,  they  stripped 
them  naked,  and  forced  them  to  run  the  gauntlet 
in  presence  of  the  whole  tribe." 


NEW-HAMSPHIRE.  101 


CONVERSATION  VI. 

Uncle  Philip  tells  the  Children  more  of  Governor  Wentworth— 
The  St.  Francis  Tribe  of  Indians  —  Another  War  between 
England  and  France,  which  ended  in  the  reduction  of  Canada 
by  the  English. 

"  COME  in,  come  in,  children.  I  am  very  glad 
to  see  you,  and  ready  to  talk  with  you.  Where 
did  we  leave  off  ?" 

"  We  talked  about  Captain  Stevens  and  the 
close  of  the  war  last,  sir." 

"  Yes,  we  spoke  of  the  treaty  of  Aix-la-Cha- 
pelle,  which  put  an  end  to  the  war  in  the  year 
1748.  So,  now  that  the  people  in  New-Hamp- 
shire are  at  peace,  we  will  talk  a  little  more  of 
Mr.  Wentworth;  for  I  like  always  to  look  for 
the  good  traits  in  a  man's  character,  if  any  can 
be  found." 

"  I  think  that  is  a  good  maxim,  Uncle  Philip, 
which  my  grandfather  used  to  tell  us,  and  thai 
was,  '  to  say  nothing  of  any  person  if  we  can 
say  nothing  that  is  good.' " 

"  Yes,  Mary,  that  is  a  good  maxim  ;  and  your 
grandfather,  if  he  was  a  particular  old  gentle- 
man, was  a  sensible  one  too.  But  in  history, 


102  HISTORY    OP 

you  know,  we  must  speak  of  men  as  they  are :  no 
choice  is  left  us.  .  But  about  Mr.  Wentworth  1 
have  nothing  to  say  which  would  represent  him 
in  an  unfavourable  light ;  indeed,  I  could  tell 
you  much  that  would  show  that  he  was  a  very 
good  and  useful  man." 

"  Let  us  hear,  Uncle  Philip." 

"  Benning  Wentworth,  like  his  father,  had 
difficulties  to  meet  in  his  administration,  and 
often  found  himself  involved  in  disputes  with 
the  Assembly.  One  occasion  of  trouble  to  New- 
Hampshire  was  the  revival  of  the  old  claim 
of  Mason.  After  the  boundaries  between  this 
province  and  Massachusetts  were  settled,  the 
purchasers  of  Mason's  title  laid  their  claims  be- 
fore the  Assembly,  and  offered  to  sell  them  for  a 
reasonable  compensation. 

"  The  Assembly  at  length  resolved  that  they 
would  comply  with  the  offer  and  pay  the  price. 
In  the  mean  while,  the  claims  had  been  sold  by 
Mason  to  twelve  persons  for  the  sum  of  fifteen 
hundred  pounds.  These  transactions  made  con- 
siderable excitement  among  the  people.  Angry 
threats  were  thrown  out  against  those  who  had 
bought  Mason's  claims  ;  and,  had  it  not  been  for 
the  approach  of  a  common  danger  from  without 
at  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  it  is  probable  that 
the  people  would  have  quarrelled  still  more. 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  103 

"  That  was  for  a  long  while  an  unpleasant 
controversy,  and  Mr.  Wentworth  found  great 
difficulty  in  managing  it ;  but  it  was  not  the 
only  difficulty  he  had." 

"  How  so,  sir  ?" 

"  When  the  boundary-line  was  settled  between 
the  two  provinces  in  the  time  of  Mr.  Belcher, 
some  towns,  before  in  Massachusetts,  were  by 
that  line  placed  in  New-Hampshire.  Besides 
this,  some  new  towns  had  been  settled  in  the 
province.  Mr.  Wentworth  thought  that  these 
towns  ought  to  choose  members  and  send  them 
to  the  Legislature.  Most  of  the  old  members 
opposed  this ;  and,  when  the  new  ones  came  in, 
the  old  ones  said  that  there  were  other  towns  en- 
titled to  send  members  which  had  been  neglect- 
ed. They  said,  too,  that  the  governor  had 
brought  in  these  men  to  help  him  on  in  some 
measures  which  he  was  anxious  to  carry,  while 
many,  if  not  a  majority,  of  the  people  were  op- 
posed to  them. 

"  When  the  new  members  appeared  in  the 
House,  the  secretary,  by  the  order  of  the  govern- 
or, administered  the  oath  of  office  to  them.  But 
the  other  members  remonstrated  with  the  gov- 
ernor, and  would  not  let  them  vote  in  the  choice 
of  a  speaker." 


104  HISTORY  or 

"  How  did  the  matter  end,  Uncle  Philip  ?" 

"  The  approach  of  danger  from  abroad,  as  1 
said,  united  the  people  at  home.  This  dispute 
did  not  arise  again  during  the  war ;  but,  after 
peace  was  made,  some  of  the  people  were  so 
angry  with  the  governor  that  they  sent  com- 
plaints against  him  to  the  King  of  England. 
But  the  very  man  who  carried  out  this  complaint 
against  Mr.  Wentworth  was  ashamed  to  present 
it  to  the  king ;  and  so  this  difficulty  gradually 
died  away." 

"  Well,  Uncle  Philip,  I  think  that  proves  very 
clearly  that  even  the  enemies  of  Mr.  Wentworth 
were  ashamed  to  find  fault,  and  that  the  govern- 
or was  a  good  man." 

"  That  is  precisely  what  I  wish  you  to  thirfk. 
So  we  will  now  go  on  and  see  what  else  he  did. 

"  Soon  after  peace  was  established,  Mr.  Went- 
worth resolved  to  extend  his  territory  farther, 
and,  in  the  year  1752,  sent  some  of  his  men  into 
the  northern  part  of  the  state,  to  make  a  new 
settlement  upon  the  Connecticut  River.  He 
wished  to  take  possession  of  the  fertile  and  beau- 
tiful meadows  along  the  river,  known  at  the  time 
as  the  Coos  Meadows.  The  plan  was  to  cut  a 
road  through  to  that  country;  to  lay  out  two 
townships,  one  on  each  side  of  the  river ;  and  to 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE  105 

erect  stockades  in  each  township  large  enough 
to  accommodate  two  hundred  men.  These  stock- 
ades were  to  enclose  a  large  space,  and  in  the 
centre  were  to  be  the  citadel  and  other  public 
buildings  and  granaries.  Into  these  they  could 
remove,  in  any  time  of  danger,  the  inhabitants 
and  all  their  moveable  effects." 

"  The  arrangements  were  well  planned,  Uncle 
Philip." 

"  Yes  ;  and,  as  an  inducement  to  people  to  re- 
move to  this  new  plantation,  they  were  promised 
courts  and  other  civil  privileges  among  them- 
selves j  and,  for  the  better  defence  and  surer 
safety  of  the  enterprise,  the  settlers  were  all  to 
be  placed  under  strict  military  discipline. 

"  A  large  number  of  persons  were  ready  to  go. 
Governor  Wentworth  sent  out  a  party,  as  I  told 
you,  to  view  the  place,  and  to  lay  out  the  pro- 
posed townships.  But  the  Indians  saw  these 
men  and  were  dissatisfied.  They  knew  the  value 
of  this  land,  and  were  unwilling  to  give  it  up. 
A  party  of  the  Arosaguntacook,  or  St.  Francis, 
was  sent  to  remonstrate  against  this  proceeding. 
They  visited  Captain  Stevens  at  the  fort  at  JVwm- 
ber  Four,  and  complained  to  him  of  the  white 
men  for  coming  upon  their  land.  They  said  that 
they  could  not  allow  the  English  there ;  that 
IT.— 9 


106  HISTORY    OF 

they  owned  more  land  already  than  they  could 
cultivate ;  and  that,  if  the  settlement  went  on, 
they  should  think  that  the  English  were  anx- 
ious to  go  to  war,  and  they  should  therefore  be- 
gin the  war  for  themselves. 

"  The  Indians  were  not  contented  with  uttering 
these  threats,  but  soon  began  to  put  them  in  exe- 
cution. Two  Indians  from  this  tribe,  named  Sa- 
batis  and  Christi,  came  into  the  town  of  Canter- 
bury, where  they  were  treated  very  kindly,  and 
remained  with  the  white  men  for  more  than  a 
month.  But,  notwithstanding  this  kind  treat- 
ment, when  they  left  they  carried  off  with  them 
two  negroes,  one  of  whom  made  his  escape  and 
came  home,  but  the  other  was  carried  to  Crown 
Point  and  sold  to  a  French  officer.  Soon  after 
this,  a  party  of  ten  or  twelve  of  the  same  tribe, 
commanded  by  one  of  their  men  whom  they 
called  Captain  Moses,  met  with  four  young  Eng- 
lishmen who  were  out  hunting  on  the  bank  of^a 
river.  They  took  two  of  these  young  men  pris- 
oners. One  of  them,  named  John  Stark,  when 
he  found  himself  surprised  and  captured,  called 
out  to  his  brother  William,  who  was  in  a  canoe 
upon  the  river,  and  he  took  the  alarm  and  es- 
caped. They  fired  at  the  canoe,  and  killed  a 
young  man  who  was  with  William.  The  sava 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  107 

ges  then  beat  John  Stark  severely  for  daring  to 
alarm  his  brother.  They  then  carried  him  and 
young  Eastman,  the  other  prisoner,  up  the  Con- 
necticut, and  down  the  Lake  Memphramagog  to 
the  headquarters  of  their  tribe.  There  they  dressed 
young  Stark  in  their  finest  robes,  and  adopted  him 
as  their  son.  And  I  wish  you  to  tell  me  if  any 
one  here  knows  who  this  young  lad,  Stark,  was  ?" 

"  No,  Uncle  Philip,  I  do  not." 

"  Yes,  yes,  Uncle  Philip,  was  he  not  the  per- 
son who  afterward  became  the  great  General 
Stark  in  the  American  army  1" 

"Yes;  the  same  man."  ^ 

"  And  how  did  he  make  his  escape  from  the 
Indians,  sir  ?" 

"  He  was  ransomed  by  a  gentleman  in  Boston, 
named  Wheelwright,  for  one  hundred  and  three 
dollars.  And  his  being  taken  by  the  Indians 
was  a  very  great  advantage  to  him." 

"  How  was  that,  sir  ?" 

"  While  he  was  living  with  them  he  learned 
a  great  deal  about  Indian  manners  and  habits, 
which  was  of  great  use  to  him  when  he  was  af- 
terward called  to  engage  in  war  against  the  sav- 
ages. Hereafter  you  will  hear  of  his  usefulness 
to  his  countrymen,  when  we  talk  of  the  war  of 
the  American  Revolution. 


JOS  HISTOKY    OF 

"  The  next  year  after  this,  the  same  man  Saba- 
tis  and  another  Indian  named  Plausawa  came  to 
Canterbury ;  and,  when  the  white  men  told  them 
that  they  had  stolen  the  two  negroes,  they  were 
angry,  and  behaved  in  a  very  insolent  manner. 
Some  of  the  white  men  then  gave  them  as  much 
rum  as  they  wanted  to  drink,  and,  when  they  be- 
came intoxicated,  followed  them  into  the  woods 
and  killed  them.  They  then  buried  their  bodies ; 
but  the  graves  were  so  shallow  that  they  were 
found  by  the  wild  beasts,  who  devoured  them, 
and  the  bones  lay  scattered  upon  the  ground. 

"  This  killing  of  these  two  Indians  and  bury- 
ing them  so  indecently  caused  the  tribe  to  be  very 
angry;  for  they  said  the  English  had  broken  the 
treaty.  By  the  articles  of  peace  it  had  been 
agreed,  that  if  any  of  the  Indians  should  treat 
the  English  with  cruelty  or  injustice,  they  should 
join  with  the  white  men  in  bringing  the  guilty 
Indians  to  punishment.  On  the  other  hand,  if 
any  Englishman  should  injure  any  of  them,  they 
should  not  take  private  revenge,  but  apply  to  the 
government  for  justice." 

"  Uncle  Philip,  that  seems  very  fair." 

"  Yes,  my  lad ;  it  was  very  fair  and  just  on 
both  sides." 

"  Well,  sir,  did  they  appeal  to  the  governor 
for  justice  in  this  case  ?" 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  109 

"  Yes.  In  the  autumn  of  that  year  a  meeting 
was  held  with  the  Eastern  tribes,  and  a  present 
was  sent  to  the  Arossaguntacooks,  expressive  of 
the  intention  on  the  part  of  the  English  to  wipe 
away  the  blood.  The  two  men  who  killed  Sa- 
batis  and  Plausawa  were  taken,  and  brought  to 
Portsmouth  to  be  tried.  They  were  put  in  prison 
and  confined  in  irons,  to  wait  for  the  sitting  of 
the  court. 

"  In  the  night  before  the  day  for  their  trial,  an 
armed  mob  came  down  from  the  country,  broke 
open  the  prison,  and  set  the  two  white  men  at 
liberty.  The  governor  then  sent  out  a  procla- 
mation, offering  a  large  reward  to  any  who  would 
seize  the  persons  who  had  broken  open  the  pris- 
on and  released  the  prisoners ;  but  no  man  could" 
tell  anything  about  it,  and  they  all  escaped. 

"  This  caused  the  St.  Francis  tribe  to  be  still 
more  provoked ;  and,  not  long  after  this,  they 
sent  a  message  to  some  of  the  New-Hampshire 
people,  saying  that  the  blood  of  their  two  breth- 
ren, Sabatis  and  Plausawa,  was  not  wiped  away. 
Perhaps  we  shall  presently  find  out  that  this  was 
true,  and  that  they  remembered  this  injury  for  a 
long  time. 

"  It  so  happened,  that  just  at  this  time,  al- 
though peace  had  been  made  between  England 

VOL.    II. — K 


110  HISTORY    OF 

and  France,  disputes  again  commenced ;  and  I 
am  sure  you  all  recollect  the  cause  of  them. 
You  have  not  forgotten  about  the  building  of  the 
fort  on  the  Ohio  River  by  the  French."* 

"  Yes,  sir  ;  that  was  the  beginning  of  the  plan 
for  joining  Canada  and  Louisiana." 

"  Yes,  my  lad ;  and  this  was  shortly  after  the 
peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle.  By  that  peace  the 
French  and  English  had  agreed  that  all  places 
taken  by  either  during  the  war  should  be  restored. 
So  the  Island  of  Cape  Breton,  which  was  taken, 
as  you  know,  was  given  back  to  the  French." 

"  I  should  have  thought,  sir,  that  this  would 
have  satisfied  the  French." 

"  Oh  yes ;  it  should  have  satisfied  them ;  but 
they  were  determined,  you  know,  to  extend  their 
possessions,  and  they  knew  that  the  Indians  liked 
them  better  than  they  did  the  English,  and  they 
felt  sure  of  their  assistance  always.  And,  be- 
sides this,  you  know,  Uncle  Philip,  that  the 
French  never  did  like  the  English,  nor  the  Eng- 
lish the  French." 

"  Very  true,  my  lad ;  and  the  people  in  Eng- 
land were  quite  sure  that  the  peace  made  with 
the  French  was  not  to  last  long.  They  knew 
that  the  difficulties  then  between  them  would 

*  Boys'  and  Girls'  Library,  No.  XXI.,  p.  194. 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  Ill 

have  to  be  decided  by  the  sword,  and  they  de- 
termined to  provide  in  season  for  the  contest. 
Some  English  gentlemen  sent  letters  over  to  the 
American  people,  advising  them  to  unite.  And 
you  remember  the  Congress  at  Albany,  where 
Mr.  Franklin  offered  his  plan  for  joining  the  col- 
onies for  a  common  defence  ?" 

"  Certainly  I  remember  that  plan,  which  the 
people  in  England  so  strangely  refused,  and  the 
people  in  America  also." 

"  It  was  not  so  very  strange  for  Englishmen 
to  dislike  the  plan  ;  for  the  English  government 
wished  to  keep  the  colonies  from  becoming 
stronger  :  but  it  was  very  strange  for  the  Ameri- 
cans to  oppose  it." 

"  Can  you  tell  us,  sir,  what  was  the  reason 
they  opposed  it  1" 

"  The  English  rejected  it,  as  I  told  you,  be- 
cause they  thought  it  gave  too  much  power  to 
the  American  colonies  in  their  assemblies.  The 
Americans  opposed  it,  because  they  thought  it 
gave  too  much  power  to  the  King  of  England." 

"  Well,  Uncle  Philip,  it  was  really  singular 
that  both  should  oppose  it,  for  such  reasons,  too." 

"  But  I  can  tell  you  something  more  singular 
in  this  business.  You  all  know  that  the  fourth 
of  July  is  always  celebrated  in  America  as  a 


112  HISTORY    OF 

great  day.  You  remember  this  year  what  a  dis- 
play the  military  of  the  village  made;  and  I 
suppose  you  saw  thejireworks  in  the  evening  1" 

"  Yes,  Uncle  Philip,  I  saw  it  all.  The  fourth 
of  July  is  a  noisy  day.  People  are  always  mer- 
ry then  ;  for  that  is  the  day  on  which  we  de- 
clared our  independence." 

"  Yes,  my  lad ;  and  it  is  right  that  we  should 
rejoice  on  that  day.  But  I  do  not  like  to  see  the 
day  made  noisy  and  disgusting  to  all  sober-mind- 
ed people,  as  it  too  often  is,  and  to  find  a  great 
many  people  drunk  in  the  streets,  because  I 
think  such  conduct  is  a  wicked  abuse  of  the  day. 
On  that  day  Americans  declared  they  had  a  right 
to  be  free,  and  determined  to  carry  on  the  war 
which  gained  us  independence.  Since  that  time 
our  country  has  been  greatly  prosperous  and  hap- 
py, and  Providence  has  given  us  many  blessings. 
Therefore  the  people  should  be  thankful  for  these 
blessings;  and  every  good  man  who  loves  his 
country  will  thank  God  for  his  mercies ;  but  to 
make  a  great  noise  and  public  disturbance,  and 
to  get  drunk  and  quarrel  on  the  fourth  of  July, 
is  a  sad  return  for  the  blessings  of  liberty. 

"For  himself,  Uncle  Philip  thinks  that  this 
day  should  be  observed  as  a  religious  festival ; 
that  churches  should  be  opened  for  prayer  and 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  113 

praise ;  and  that  the  voice  of  the  whole  nation's 
thanksgiving  and  gratitude  should  go  up  to  Heav- 
en. He  may  be  singular  and  oldfashioned  in  his 
views,  but  he  is  an  old  man,  and  he  thinks  that 
we  should  never,  never  forget  the  hand  of  Provi- 
dence, that  led  us  on  to  victory  and  enabled  us 
to  become  free. 

"  But  there  are  many  causes  why  we  should 
remember  this  day ;  for  it  has  lately  become 
more  remarkable  in  our  country  than  any  other 
day  connected  with  our  civil  history.  On  the 
fourth  of  July,  1776,  we  declared  our  independ- 
ence ;  on  the  same  day,  in  the  year  1826,  John 
Jldams  and  Thomas  Jefferson,  two  of  our  for- 
mer presidents,  died  ;  and  on  the  fourth  of  July, 
1831,  James  Monroe,  another  of  our  presidents, 
died  also." 

"  Uncle  Philip,  all  this  seems  very  strange ; 
and  if  I  were  one  of  those  old  men  who  had  been 
in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  was  distinguished 
in  that  struggle  for  liberty,  I  should  be  afraid,  on 
every  return  of  the  fourth  of  July,  that  I  was  to 
die  on  that  day." 

"  Not  many  of  them  are  left  now  to  think  of 
death  or  of  anything  else :  but  I  do  not  like  to  hear 
you  talk  about  fearing  to  die.  A  man — yes,  and 
a  child  also — should  learn  to  think  of  death  with- 

K2 


114  HISTORY    OF 

out  fear ;  and  there  is  but  one  way  of  doing  this. 
Learn  to  be  a  Christian,  and  then  you  will  learn 
to  master  and  overcome  all  fear. 

"  But,  my  children,  there  is  another  remark- 
able event  connected  with  the  fourth  of  July. 
It  was  on  that  day,  in  the  year  1754,  that  Mr. 
Franklin's  plan  for  the  union  of  the  colonies  was 
agreed  to." 

"  But  it  was  not  agreed  to,  sir." 

"  I  mean,  agreed  to  by  the  gentlemen  at  Alba- 
ny— not  by  the  people  at  large." 

"  Well,  sir,  these  things  seem  strange  indeed." 

"  Yes ;  but  we  can  give  no  reason  for  them. 
They  were  the  doings  of  that  Providence  which 
watches  over  all  things,  whose  care  extends  to 
the  mightiest  events,  and  yet  can  so  narrow  its 
watchfulness  as  to  number  the  very  hairs  of  our 
heads  and  to  notice  the  falling  sparrow.  These 
things  are  beyond  what  we  can  see  and  under- 
stand. So  we  will  return  to  something  that  is 
plainer,  and  that  we  can  understand. 

"The  French  and  English  are  now  at  war 
again.  The  first  disturbances  began  in  Virginia, 
you  know,  about  the  Ohio  fort." 

"  Yes,  sir ;  that  was  WASHINGTON'S  first  battle. 
I  shall  never  forget  that." 

"  The  news  of  this  trouble  in  Virginia  soon 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  115 

spread  through  the  country,  and  the  Indians,  who 
were  always  ready  to  aid  the  French,  began  the 
first  attack.  Most  of  the  northern  settlements 
suffered  of  course,  because  they  were  exposed  to 
the  Indian  attacks  as  they  came  down  from  Cana- 
da. The  eastern  part  of  New-Hampshire  suf- 
fered particularly. 

"  A  party  of  Indians  made  an  attacic  upon 
Baker's  town,  on  the  Pemigewasset  River,  and 
killed  one  or  two,  and  carried  off  a  number  of 
captives. 

"  Shortly  after  this  they  killed  a  man  and  a 
woman  in  the  same  neighbourhood ;  and  these 
dangers  and  exposures  caused  the  breaking  up 
of  the  settlements,  and  the  people  retired  to  the 
lower  towns  for  safety.  The  government  was 
obliged  to  place  soldiers  along  these  deserted 
places,  to  give  the  alarm  in  case  of  an  approach 
of  the  foe. 

"  But  I  know  of  no  place  that  suffered  more 
at  that  time  than  Number  Four" 

"  Uncle  Philip,  that  town  was  always  sure  to 
suffer." 

"  It  was  one  of  the  northern  settlements,  and 
more  exposed  than  most  other  towns.  I  remem 
ber  reading  an  account  of  the  Indians  breaking 
into  the  house  of  a  man  named  Johnson,  and  ta« 


116  HISTORY    OF 

king  him,  and  his  wife,  and  family  prisoners. 
They  entered  the  house  early  in  the  morning, 
and  so  completely  surprised  the  family  that  they 
took  them  without  resistance,  and  carried  them 
away.  The  day  after  Mrs.  Johnson  was  carried 
away  her  little  daughter  was  born,  and  she  named 
her  Captive  Johnson," 

"  That  was  a  singular  name  to  give  a  little  girl, 
sir." 

"  The  Indians  halted  one  day  on  her  account, 
and  then  went  on,  carrying  her  and  the  little 
child  on  a  litter  which  they  made  for  that  purpose. 

"  And  I  remember,  too,  that  they  afterward 
placed  her'on  horseback,  until  their  provisions 
failed,  and  they  were  forced  to  kill  the  hbrse  and 
eat  his  flesh  for  food.  It  is  said,  too,  my  chil- 
dren, that  the  little  girl  .Captive  was  fed  on  the 
flesh  of  that  horse. 

"  At  length  the  Indians  reached  Montreal, 
and,  after  some  difficulty,  Mr.  Johnson  obtained 
leave  to  go  back  to  New-England,  that  he  might 
obtain  money  to  redeem  his  family  from  captivi- 
ty. He  succeeded  in  procuring  the  money ;  but 
the  season  was  so  far  advanced,  and  the  winter 
so  severe,  that  he  did  not  reach  Canada  again 
till  spring.  When  he  reached  Montreal  most  of 
his  money  was  taken  from  him,  and  he  was 
thrown  into  prison  " 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  117 

"  Why  was  that,  Uncle  Philip  ?" 

"  They  said  he  had  broken  his  word,  and  did 
not  return  as  soon  as  he  had  promised.  But  you 
know  the  snow  was  so  deep,  and  the  winter  so 
severe,  that  he  could  not  travel. 

"  After  being  confined  for  more  than  a  year, 
Mrs.  Johnson  and  two  of  her  daughters  were  sent 
to  England,  and  from  there  she  came  to  Bos- 
ton." 

"  And  what  became  of  Mr.  Johnson,  sir  1" 

"  He  was  kept  a  prisoner  for  three  years.  Af- 
ter that  he  was  allowed  to  return  with  his  son  to 
Boston,  where  he  again  found  his  family.  But 
here  still  he  was  unfortunate ;  and,  being  sus- 
pected of  designs  unfriendly  to  the  colonies,  he 
was  again  imprisoned  ;  but,  as  no  evidence  was 
brought  to  prove  him  guilty,  he  was  again  set 
free.  I  mention  this  case  of  suffering  as  one  of 
many  of  the  same  kind  which  were  endured  by 
the  people  of  Number  Four.  This  place  was 
much  exposed,  and,  being  badly  defended,  the 
savages  often  made  their  attacks  upon  it.  And 
you  will  see  very  soon  that  New-Hampshire  tried 
to  provide  against  these  attacks,  by  raising  sol- 
diers to  defend  these  weak  and  exposed  settle- 
ments." 


118  HISTORY    OF 


CONVERSATION  VH. 

Uncle  Philip  tells  the  Children  something  more  about  the  War 
between  the  English  and  French— The  Reduction  of  Canada 
by  the  English  —  The  Burning  of  the  Village  of  the  St. 
Francis  Tribe  of  Indians,  and  the  Punishment  of  the  Tribe. 

"  You  remember,  my  children,  that  the  Eng- 
lish government  sent  out  forces  to  America,  un- 
der the  command  of  General  Braddock,  to  fight 
the  French;  and  you  may  recollect  that  three 
expeditions  were  planned.  One  was  sent  against 
Fort  Du  Quesne,  on  the  Ohio,  under  the  command 
of  Braddock ;  another  was  commanded  by  Gov- 
ernor Shirley,  against  Niagara;  and  the  third, 
under  General  Johnson,  was  sent  against  Crown 
Point." 

"  Yes,  Uncle  Philip  ;  and  I  remember  that  all 
three  of  the  expeditions  failed." 

"  True  ;  and  I  only  wish  to  tell  you  that,  for 
the  undertaking  against  Crown  Point,  New- 
Hampshire  raised  five  hundred  men,  and  put 
them  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Blanchard. 
The  governor  ordered  them  to  Connecticut  Riv- 
er, to  buikl  a  fort  at  Coos,  supposing  it  to  be  on 
the  way  to  Crown  Point.  They  wasted  some 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  Jl9 

time  in  this  fruitless  work,  and  then,  by  com- 
mand of  the  governor,  made  a  fatiguing  march 
to  Albany  by  way  of  Number  Four. 

"  And  now,  perhaps,  you  can  call  to  mind  an- 
other attack  which  the  English  and  Americans 
planned  V9 

"  Yes,  sir ;  expeditions  were  again  planned 
against  these  same  places,  and,  just  as  before, 
they  failed." 

"  And,  more  than  this,  Uncle  Philip,  the 
French  general  Montcalm  took  Oswego,  and  ob- 
tained possession  of  Lake  Ontario." 

"  That  is  all  correct :  and  here  let  me  tell  you, 
that  in  these  expeditions  the  soldiers  from  New- 
Hampshire  behaved  bravely. 

"During  the  first  expedition  against  Crown 
Point,  while  Johnson  was  encamped  at  Lake 
George,  the  New-Hampshire  regiment  was  post- 
ed at  Fort  Edward.  While  the  French  and 
Indians  under  Dieskau  made  an  attack  upon 
Johnson  in  his  camp,  a  scouting  party  of  New- 
Hampshire  soldiers  sallied  out  from  Fort  Edward, 
found  the  baggage  of  the  French  army  under 
the  care  of  a  guard,  made  an  attack  upon  them, 
and  dispersed  them.  When  the  French  army  ap- 
peared on  their  return,  these  soldiers  concealed 
themselves  among  the  trees,  and  kept  up  a  con- 


120  HISTORY    OF 

tinual  fire  till  night,  killing  many  of  the  enemy. 
They  then  made  their  way  to  their  camp,  carry- 
ing their  own  wounded,  and  bearing  with  them  a 
number  of  French  prisoners  and  considerable 
plunder.  The  remainder  of  the  ammunition  and 
baggage  wras  brought  into  camp  the  next  day." 

"  That  was  bravely  done,  Uncle  Philip." 

"  The  New-Hampshire  soldiers  were  very  skil- 
ful, and  usually  successful  jn  such  excursions  as 
this.  But  we  will  now  return  to  our  story.  Can 
?.ny  of  you  tell  me  anything  of  Lord  Loudon, 
who  came  to  this  country  to  take  command  of 
the  English  forces  ?" 

"  He  came  over,  Uncle  Philip,  and  planned  an 
expedition  against  Crown  Point,  and  he  failed 
also ;  and  you  said  you  did  not  think  he  was  of 
any  great  service  in  the  country." 

"  Very  well ;  a  regiment  was  raised  in  New- 
Hampshire  for  this  expedition.  A  part  of  them 
went  first  to  Halifax,  and  the  remainder  were 
stationed  for  a  time  at  Number  Four.  These 
were  afterward  marched  to  Albany,  and  were 
then  posted  at  Fort  William  Henry,  on  Lake 
George.  The  French  general  Montcalm,  at  the 
head  of  a  large  body  of  Canadians  and  Indians, 
with  a  train  of  artillery,  attacked  this  fort,  and, 
as  you  recollect,  perhaps,  forced  them  to  sur- 
render." "• 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  121 

a  Yes,  sir  ;  I  recollect  about  it.  I  shall  never 
forget  that  the  battle  of  Fort  William  Henry 
was  a  bloody  battle,  and  how  much  the  poor  sol- 
diers suffered." 

"  It  was  owing  to  the  bad  faith  of  the  French, 
my  children,  that  our  soldiers  suffered  so  much 
They  were  promised  an  escort  of  French  troops 
to  Fort  Edward,  and  were  told  that  they  might 
carry  their  private  baggage.  But  the  Indians 
had  been  induced  to  serve  in  this  expedition  by 
the  promise  of  plunder.  They  were  greatly  dis- 
pleased at  the  terms  granted  to  the  garrison,  and, 
as  they  marched  out  unarmed,  they  fell  upon 
them,  stripped  them  of  everything  they  had,  and 
murdered  every  one  who  dared  to  offer  any  re- 
sistance. 

"  The  New-Hampshire  regiment  happened  to 
be  in  the  rear,  and  ihey  suffered  the  chief  fury 
of  the  savages.  Eighty  of  the  two  hundred 
we»e  killed  and  taken." 

"  And,  Uncle  Philip,  I  remember,  too,  that 
Lord  Loudon  abused  the  American  soldiers  j  but 
I  suspect  they  thought  as  little  of  him  as  he 
possibly  could  think  of  them." 

"  These  things  show  you,  my  children,  that 
New-Hampshire  was  not  idle  or  backward  in  this 
business,  but  willingly  bore  her  part.     The  war, 
ii.— 10 


122  HISTORY    OF 

you  will  bear  in  mind,  was  looked  upon  in  Amer- 
ica as  a  general  war  against  France. 

"  But  we  have  not  done  yet.  You  see  that 
the  French  now  had  possession  of  Fort  William 
Henry,  Oswego,  and  Fort  Du  Quesne,  and  that 
gave  them  the  command  of  Lake  George,  Lake 
Ontario,  and  the  Ohio  River." 

"  Yes,  sir ;  and  that  looked  like  doing  as  they 
pleased  in  joining  Canada  and  Louisiana ;  and  I 
believe,  Uncle  Philip,  they  would  have  succeed- 
ed, had  it  not  been  for  that  great  friend  of  our 
country,  William  Pitt ;  for  you  said  the  colonies 
were  very  much  discouraged  by  their  misfor- 
tunes, when  Mr.  Pitt  kindly  wrote  to  America, 
and  encouraged  the  people  to  keep  on  in  their 
struggle,  and  said  he  would  send  soldiers  to  this 
country  to  aid  them.  And  he  did  aid  them,  Un- 
cle Philip ;  for  General  Amherst  soon  came  to 
this  country,  and  Lord  Loudon  returned  home." 

"  You  remember  what  I  told  you  very  \iell, 
James ;  and  I  should  like  to  hear  you  farther. 
Tell  me  now  what  Amherst'did." 

"He  reduced  Louisburg,  sir,  a  second  time; 
and,  besides  this,  he  afterward  took  Ticonderoga 
and  Crown  Point.  Fort  Du  Quesne  was  also 
captured  by  a  man  named  General  Forbes,  at 
which  place  Washington  aided  him.  Fort  Fron- 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  123 

tenac  was  also  taken  from  the  French  by  Colonel 
Bradstrcet.  Yes,  sir,  the  English  and  American 
soldiers  did  bravely  after  Mr.  Pitt  took  the  man- 
agement of  the  war;  and  I  know  the  New-York 
soldiers  fought  well,  and  now  I  wish  to  have 
you  tell  me  whether  the  New-Hampshire  soldiers 
did  the  same." 

"  Why,  yes,  James.  After  Mr.  Pitt  sent  his 
letters  to  the  country,  New-Hampshire  raised 
first  eight  hundred  men,  and  afterward  one  thou- 
sand men.  This  last  regiment  served  under 
the  command  of  Colonel  Lovewell  when  Gener- 
al Amherst  took  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point." 

"  Lovewell,  did  you  say,  sir  ?  Was  he  a  re- 
lation of  t"ie  brave  John  Lovewell  ?" 

"  Yes  j  he  was  the  brother  of  that  man,  and 
a  brave  officer  he  was.  But  there  were  other 
places  still  which  were  taken.  What  were  they  V9 

"  Niagara  was  taken  by  Colonel  Johnson,  the 
noble-hearted  man  who  wished  to  aid  those  poor 
soldiers  at  Fort  William  Henry.  And  at  last  the 
city  of  Quebec  surrendered;  and  there  Mont- 
3alm  and  Wolfe  died,  two  of  the  bravest  men 
of  whom  I  ever  heard.  And  the  year  after  this,  I 
remember,  General  Amherst  went  to  Montreal, 
and  there  the  Marquis  de  Vaudreiul,  the  govern- 
or of  Canada,  surrendered  also.  And  then,  Un- 
cle Philip,  Canada  was  conquered." 


124  HISTORY    OF 

"  Yes ;  and  peace  was  made  at  what  time  1" 
"  I  do  not  remember  the  year,  sir." 
"  Well,  James,  you  have  remembered  a  great 
deal  of  our  New-York  history  ;  so  I  will  put  you 
in  mind  of  the  year.     It  was  in  1762.     And 
now  that  Canada  is  conquered,  I  must  tell  you 
that  the  English  punished  the  St.  Francis  tribe 
of  Indians,  of  whom  we  talked,  who  had  been 
warm  friends  of  the  French,  and,  through  all 
the  war,  aided  them  against  the  colonies." 

"  Uncle  Philip,  in  the  first  place  I  would  like 
to  ask,  while  I  think  of  it,  where  was  John  Stark 
during  this  war  ?" 

"  Have  I  said  nothing  of  him  ?  It  seems  I 
have  forgotten  to  mention  him,  but  I  am  in  fault ; 
for  a  brave  man  should  always  be  remembered. 
He  was,  during  the  greater  part  of  the  war,  the 
commander  of  a  company  of  soldiers  in  New- 
Hampshire,  who  were  moving  through  the  woods, 
constantly  on  the  look-out  for  the  Indians.  His 
knowledge  of  the  habits  and  character  of  the 
savages  made  him  very  serviceable  to  his  coun- 
try. I  hope,  children,  some  time  to  talk  with 
you  more  about  this  man,  and  some  others  who 
distinguished  themselves  in  fighting  for  their 
country.  Now  we  will  talk  about  the  St.  Fran- 
cis Indians. 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  125 

"  As  soon  as  the  English  had  time  to  rest  from 
the  war  with  the  French  and  the  Canadians, 
they  resolved  to  punish  this  tribe,  who  had  an- 
noyed them  so  much." 

"  Uncle  Philip,  they  told  the  English  that  the 
blood  of  Sabatis,  and  the  other  Indian  who  was 
murdered  at  Canterbury,  was  not  wiped  away." 

"  Yes,  my  lad ;  and,  during  all  this  war,  they 
had  been  washing  it  out.  They  had  committed 
ravages  and  murders  all  along  the  frontier.  Gen- 
eral Amherst  therefore  sent  out  from  Crown 
Point  a  party  of  two  hundred  rangers,  under  the 
command  of  Major  Rogers,  who  was  one  of  the 
New-Hampshire  soldiers,  to  destroy  their  vil- 
lage." 

"  Where  did  the  St.  Francis  Indians  live,  sir  ?" 

"  Their  village  was  situated  on  Lake  Mem- 
phramagog,  in  the  northern  part  of  what  is  now 
the  State  of  Vermont." 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  see  it." 

"  After  a  fatiguing  march  of  twenty-six  days, 
Major  Rogers  and  his  soldiers  came  in  sight  of 
the  village,  which  he  discovered  by  climbing  to 
the  top  of  a  tree.  Here  he  halted  his  men,  three 
miles  distant  from  the  Indian  town.  In  the  even- 
ing, Rogers  and  two  of  his  officers  disguised 
themselves  and  entered  the  village.  They  pass- 
i  2 


126  HISTORY    OF 

ed  about  among  the  Indians  without  being  dis- 
covered. He  found  them  celebrating  one  of  their 
savage  festivals,  and  all  engaged  in  carousing 
and  dancing.  So  he  returned  to  his  men,  arran- 
ged them  in  parties,  and  told  them  what  he  ex- 
pected each  man  to  do.  After  the  village  again 
became  quiet,  he  returned  with  the  soldiers,  en- 
tered the  village,  and  found  the  Indians  all 
asleep.  Having  taken  care  to  place  his  men  in 
different  parts  of  the  village,  the  signal  was  giv- 
en, and  they  fell  upon  the  Indians  at  once  and 
completely  surprised  them.  Some  were  killed  in 
their  houses ;  some  tried  to  escape,  and  were  cut 
down  ;  and,  when  daylight  broke  upon  the  vil- 
lage, the  white  men  saw  many  hundred  scalps 
of  their  countrymen  raised  upon  high  poles  and 
waving  in  the  air." 

"  That  was  evidence,  sir,  that  they  had  en- 
deavoured to  wipe  out  the  blood  of  those  who 
•were  murdered  at  Canterbury." 

"  Yes ;  and  that  sight  gave  the  white  men 
strength  for  vengeance.  They  found  that  the 
village  had  been  enriched  by  the  plunder  of  the 
frontiers  and  the  sale  of  captives.  The  houses 
were  well-furnished,  and  their  church  was  adorn- 
ed with  silver  plate  and  rich  articles  of  furniture. 
Rogers  feared  that  the  alarm  might  reach 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  127 

"bodies  of  Indians.  So  he  ordered  his  men  to 
seize  what  plunder  they  could,  and  commenced 
his  return.  They  brought  away  all  the  money 
they  found,  and,  among  other  things,  a  large 
and  valuable  silver  image." 

"  Well,  sir,  I  am  glad  they  took  the  image." 

"Besides  this,  Rogers  set  fire  to  the  village 
and  retreated,  carrying  away  five  English  pris- 
oners whom  he  found  at  St.  Francis,  and  about 
twenty  Indians. 

"  But  Major  Rogers  and  his  men  treated  these 
Indians  with  more  kindness  than  they  had  for- 
merly treated  the  white  men ;  for  he  dismissed 
them  without  any  farther  punishment." 

"  I  like  that  conduct,  sir.  Major  Rogers  be- 
haved well." 

"  Yes,  very  well.  But  he  himself  met  with 
misfortune  before  he  reached  home.  Only  one 
of  his  men  was  killed  at  St.  Francis,  and  six  or 
seven  wounded  ;  but,  after  they  left  the  village, 
they  were  pursued,  and  lost  seven  of  their  num- 
ber. They  then  separated  into  smaller  parties, 
and  endeavoured  to  get  home  as  rapidly  and 
safely  as  possible.  Some  of  them  found  their 
way  to  the  village  of  Number  Four,  and  some 
perished  on  the  way.  The  bones  of  those  who 
•were  lost  in  the  forests  were  found  many  years 


128  HISTOttY-OF 

after  by  the  people  who  settled  in  that  part  of 
the  country. 

"  So  the  St.  Francis  Indians  were  severely 
punished  j  but  Rogers  and  his  men  suffered  bit- 
terly. 

"  Before  we  close  this  conversation,  I  wish  to 
tell  you,  children,  that  it  seemed  to  have  been 
ordered  favourably  by  Divine  Providence,  that, 
during  this  war  of  which  we  have  just  spoken, 
the  seasons  were  fruitful,  and  provisions  were  to 
be  found  in  plenty  and  at  low  prices.  The  col- 
onies were  able  to  supply  their  own  troops, 
and  to  furnish  considerable  which  they  sold  for 
the  supply  of  the  British  soldiers. 

"  The  two  years  that  followed  this  war  were 
years  of  scarcity.  The  seasons  were  dry  and 
unfavourable,  the  crops  were  cut  short,  and  the 
people  really  had  to  purchase  provisions  from 
abroad.  If  this  calamity  had  attended  the  years 
of  the  war,  it  would  have  been  very  unfortunate, 
and  the  distress  would  have  been  felt  not  only  at 
home,  but  among  the  poor  soldiers  who  were 
fighting  for  their  country." 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  129 


CONVERSATION  VHI. 

• 

Uucle  Philip  tells  the  Children  about  the  Disputes  between 
New- Hampshire  and  New-York  concerning  Boundaries  — 
Tells  them  about  the  Stamp  Act,  and  what  the  People  in 
New-Hampshire  said  and  did  about  it — Governor  Wentworth 
resigns,  and  his  Nephew  takes  his  place. 

"WHEN  we  talked  about  New-York,  I  told 
you  something  respecting  the  disputes  between 
that  colony  and  New-Hampshire  on  the  subject 
of  their  boundary-lines."* 

"  Uncle  Philip,  it  seems  that  New-Hampshire 
had  considerable  difficulty  in  determining  the 
size  of  her  province.  You  told  us  the  other  day 
of  her  long  dispute  with  Massachusetts,  and 
now  we  are  to  hear  of  her  New- York  troubles." 

"After  the  French  war  was  ended,  a  large 
portion  of  the  land  between  New-Hampshire 
and  New-York  was  taken  up  and  occupied  by 
settlers." 

"  That  is  where  the  State  of  Vermont  now  is, 
Uncle  Philip." 

"  Yes,  James.  Governor  Wentworth  allowed 
these  settlers  to  take  up  this  land,  and  said  that 

*  Uncle  Philip's  History  of  New- York. 
II.— 11 


130  HISTORY    OF 

New-Hampshire  extended  as  far  west  as  within 
twenty  miles  of  Hudson  River.  He  granted  to 
some  people  who  applied  to  him  thf  town  of 
Bennington,  six  miles  square,  and  twenty-four 
miles  east  of  the  Hudson.  He  disposed  of  a 
number  of  other  townships  in  the  disputed  terri- 
tory. 

"  Governor  Clinton,  of  New-York,  said,  on  the 
other  hand,  that  New-Hampshire  did  not  extend 
farther  than  the  Connecticut,  and  he  thought, 
therefore,  that  the  men  who  were  settled  upon 
the  land  had  no  right  to  be  there  j  for  they  were 
within  his  province." 

"  Uncle  Philip,  how  far  west  did  the  provinces 
of  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts  extend  ?" 

"  They  extended  as  far  as  New-Hampshire 
claimed.  They  had  the  same  dispute  with  New- 
York,  and  it  had  been  settled  that  their  boundary 
reached  as  far  as  a  line  twenty  miles  east  of 
Hudson  River.  But  Governor  Clinton,  as  I  said, 
thought  New-Hampshire  should  not  extend  so 
far  ;  and  this  produced  disputes  between  him 
and  Mr.  Wentworth. 

"  In  the  mean  while,  the  people  were  very 
anxious  to  occupy  these  new  lands.  Emigrants 
from  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  swarmed  to 
the  West.  Population  and  cultivation  began  1o 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  131 

increase  with  a  rapidity  never  known  before ;  and 
from  this  time  may  be  dated  the  flourishing  con- 
dition of  New-Hampshire,  which  had  hitherto 
been  kept  back  in  its  growth  by  the  continual 
danger  of  the  Indians. 

"  Governor  Clinton  saw  this  increase  of  the 
power  and  influence  of  New-Hampshire,  and 
made  application  to  the  King  of  England,  rep- 
resenting that  it  would  be  better  for  the  people 
inhabiting  this  disputed  territory  to  be  joined  to 
New-York,  and  asking  the  king  to  decide.  Af- 
ter a  while,  the  question  was  settled  in  England 
in  favour  of  New- York." 

"  And  so,  Uncle  Philip,  New-Hampshire  was 
confined  within  the  Connecticut  River  1" 

"  The  western  line  of  the  province  was  decla- 
red to  be  the  west  bank  of  that  river.  You  will 
do  well  to  remember  this,  as  it  will  help  you  bet- 
ter to  understand  the  history  of  New-Hampshire, 
if  hereafter,  when  you  are  older,  you  read  about 
that  state." 

"  Thank  you,  sir ;  we  will  try  to  remember  it" 

"  We  have  now,  my  children,  brought  the 
history  of  New-Hampshire  down  to  a  very  re- 
markable and  a  very  interesting  period  of  our 
country.  It  is  said  that, '  from  the  earliest  es- 
tablishment of  the  American  colonies,  a  jealousy 


132  HISTORY    OF 

of  their  independence  had  existed  among  the 
people  of  Great  Britain.' 

"  It  would  seem,  children,  that  this  jealousy 
increased,  as  it  naturally  would,  as  the  colonies 
gained  in  strength  and  importance." 

"  Uncle  Philip,  what  made  the  people  in  Eng- 
land think  that  the  Americans  wished  to  be  free  ? 
The  people  in  this  country  were  satisfied  until 
the  king  and  Parliament  drove  them  to  assert 
their  independence." 

"  That  is  very  true.  The  people  in  England 
knew  that  those  who  came  away  from  that  coun- 
try to  settle  in  America  had  many  of  them  suf- 
fered there  from  religious  persecution  and  other 
causes,  and  they  suspected  that  these  men,  when 
they  gained  sufficient  power  to  protect  them- 
selves, would  be  likely  to  cast  themselves  off 
from  the  government  at  home,  and  set  up  a  more 
free  and  tolerant  form  of  government.  As  early 
as  the  reign  of  James  the  First,  such  suspicions 
as  these  were  entertained  in  England.  And 
even  when  King  William  was  seated  on  the 
throne,  who  was  so  highly  esteemed  in  England 
and  America  too,  this  same  jealousy  seems  to 
have  existed.  But  it  became  more  evident  at  a 
time  when  there  was  the  least  reason  to  expect  it 

"  The  time  of  difficulty  now  drew  on.     Of 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  133 

these  troubles  we  have  talked  before,  for  they 
were  common  to  all  the  colonies." 

"  Yes,  yes,  Uncle  Philip ;  you  mean  the  Stamp 
Ad.  You  are  going  to  tell  us  about  that." 

"  Yes,  I  am;  or,  rather,  I  will  hear  you  talk 
of  it,  for  you  should  know  something  about  it. 
So,  Henry  Williams,  give  us  some  information 
about  the  Stamp  Act." 

"  I  will,  Uncle  Philip.  The  Stamp  Act  was 
passed  in  the  year  1765  in  the  British  Parliament, 
and  the  motion  was  made  for  it  by  Lord  Gren- 
ville ;  and  as  it  was  very  unjust  towards  the 
Americans,  it  produced  great  dissatisfaction  in 
our  country.  Every  person  almost  was  angry, 
because  they  thought  the  English  were  anxious 
to  be  their  masters,  and  to  keep  them  from  gain- 
ing'power  and  becoming  prosperous.  And  I  be- 
lieve they  thought  right,  Uncle  Philip." 

"  Very  well,  Henry  ;  before  you  go  on,  I  sim- 
ply wish  to  say,  that  the  Parliament  had  passed 
a  law  before  this,  laying  a  duty  on  sugar  and  mo- 
.asses  imported  from  the  West  Indies,  which  the 
people  disliked  because  it  interfered  with  the 
trade  of  the  colonies  with  those  islands.  Now 
you  may  proceed." 

"  Well,  sir,  when  the  news  of  this  act  arrived 

VOL.  ii. — M 


134  HISTORY    OF 

in  America,  the  people  determined  not  to  submit 
to  such  injustice." 

"  Stop  again  one  minute.  Here  are  three  lit- 
tle girls  who  were  not  with  us  when  we  talked 
together  before,  and  perhaps  they  do  not  know 
what  the  Stamp  Act  means ;  but  you  can  tell 
them  what  it  means.  You  remember  I  explained 
it  to  you  in  our  Virginia  History."* 

"  It  was  a  law,  girls,  which  said  that  all  the 
paper  used  in  America  for  printing  newspapers, 
writing  notes  and  deeds,  and  such  things,  should 
be  marked  with  a  particular  stamp.  If  it  was  not 
marked  with  this  stamp  it  was  declared  not  to  be 
lawful;  and  the  law  was  made  merely  to  get 
money  out  of  the  American  people.  Well,  in  a 
little  time,  when  the  news  of  that  law  reached 
America,  the  Virginia  Assembly  was  sitting/and 
Patrick  Henry  made  a  speech  against  the  act ; 
and  the  Virginia  Assembly  declared  that  they 
had  a  right  to  tax  themselves,  and  that  no  other 
country  or  body  of  people  should  be  allowed  to 
tax  them  without  their  consent. 

"  And  in  New-York  the  Stamp  Act  was  drag- 
ged through  the  streets,  and  called  the  folly  of 
England  and  the  ruin  of  America.  And  in 
Massachusetts  the  Assembly  proposed  that  each 
*  Boys'  and  Girls'  Library,  No.  XXL,  p.  216. 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  135 

colony  should  send  men  to  meet  in  a  general 
Congress,  and  see  what  should  be  done."* 

"  Very  good :  go  on,  and  let  us  hear  what 
else  was  done.  Did  the  Congress  meet  7" 

"  Oh  yes,  sir ;  and  it  was  the  first  Colonial 
Congress,  as  it  was  called  ;  and  Mr.  Ruggles,  of 
Massachusetts,  was  made  speaker ;  and  the  Con- 
gress met  in  the  City  o/  New-York;  and  then 
this  Congress  agreed  to  send  a  petition  to  the 
king  and  Parliament,  begging  that  the  Stamp 
Act  might  be  repealed."f 

"  Stop  again,  Henry.  Tell  me  what  colonies 
sent  members  to  that  Congress." 

"  These  were  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island, 
Connecticut,  New- York,  New-Jersey,  Pennsyl- 
vania, Delaware,  Maryland,  and  South  Carolina. 
Well,  Uncle  Philip — I  never  thought  of  it  before 
—  there  were  no  members  there  from  New- 
Hampshire." 

"  None :  but  the  New-Hampshire  Assembly, 
at  their  next  meeting  after  the  Congress  \ras 
broken  up,  sent  the  same  sort  of  petition  to  Eng- 
land. She  sent  out  her  petition  by  a  man  nan*<d 
Trecothick,  who  was  at  that  time  the  agent  v)f 
this  province ;  and  Mr.  Wentworth,  a  nephew  of 

*  Ur.de  Philip's  History  of  Massachusetts,  vol.  ii.(  p.  l(v 
t  Uncle  Philip's  History  of  New- York. 


136  HISTORY    OF 

the  governor,  was  then  in  England,  and  he  was 
to  aid  Trecothick  in  this  petition. 

"  And  now  let  me  go  back  a  little,  because  I 
wish  to  show  you  that  the  citizens  of  New-Hamp- 
shire were  as  spirited  and  resolute  as  their  coun- 
trymen in  the  other  states,  although  they  sent  no 
members  to  that  Congress. 

"  You  have  been  told  that  officers  were  sent 
out  to  America  to  receive  and  distribute  these 
stamps,  as  they  were  called.  The  man  sent  to 
New-Hampshire  for  this  purpose  was  George 
Messerve,  a  son'  of  a  brave  officer,  Colonel  Mes- 
serve,  who  fell  at  the  capture  of  Louisburg.  He 
sailed  in  a  ship  from  England  and  landed  at  Bos- 
ton. Before  he  landed,  however,  he  was  told 
that  the  people  in  New-Hampshire  were  so  dis- 
pleased and  offended  at  this  act,  that  it  would 
not  be  safe  for  him  to  go  there  unless  he  resigned 
And  he  really  did  resign  his  office,  and  then  they 
welcomed  him  upon  the  shore." 

"  It  was  well  for  him,  Uncle  Philip,  that  he 
did  so." 

"  So  I  think ;  for  the  people  were  so  angry  that 
I  fear  they  would  have  murdered  him  if  he  had 
attempted  to  distribute  the  stamps.  The  people 
in  Portsmouth  were  very  much  excited.  They 
had  hung  in  effigy  some  of  the  men  in  England 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  137 

who  were  most  active  in  this  matter,  and  would 
have  been  glad  to  fasten  the  rope  around  the 
necks  of  the  men  in  their  own  proper  persons. 
When  Messerve  reached  that  place,  the  people 
forced  him  to  make  a  second  resignation,  public- 
ly, before  he  was  allowed  to  go  to  his  own  house. 
The  people  seemed  tolerably  satisfied  with  this. 
Soon  after,  the  stamped  paper  which  was  des- 
tined for  New-Hampshire  arrived  at  Boston  in 
the  same  vessel  with  that  intended  for  Massachu- 
setts." 

"  What  did  the  people  do  with  it,  Uncle  Phil- 
ip r 

"  There  was  no  officer  or  any  person  who 
would  take  care  of  it  or  have  anything  to  do 
with  it ;  and  so,  by  order  of  the  governor,  it  was 
placed  in  the  Castle.  In  Massachusetts  the  peo- 
ple had  also  forced  the  stamp  officer  to  resign, 
and  there  was  no  one  in  either  of  these  provin- 
ces who  dared  to  distribute  the  paper." 

"  And  the  governor  laid  it  away  for  saje  keep- 
ing, sir  1" 

"Yes." 

"  Well,  Uncle  Philip,  it  is  plain  that  the  citi- 
zens of  New-Hampshire  did  not  want  firmness 
or  courage,  and  I  was  thinking  that  the  cause  of 
her  having  no  members  in  th0*  Colonial  Con« 

M2 


138  HISTORY    OF 

gress  was  this :  not  because  she  was  not  in  fa- 
vour of  the  Congress,  but  because  her  Assembly 
was  not  in  session  at  the  time  to  choose  members. 
Why,  sir,  there  might  have  been  many  causes  for 
not  sending  members,  although  she  was  in  fa- 
vour of  the  Congress." 

"  Very  true,  my  lad." 

"  And  there,  sir,  was  Virginia,  that  sent  no 
members  to  that  Congress ;  and  who  ever  said 
that  Virginia  was  not  a  bold  and  independent 
state  ?" 

"  No  one  ever  said  that ;  and  I  am  pleased  to 
see  that  you  are  not  only  looking  at  facts,  but  at 
the  causes  of  facts  also.  That  is  the  true  way 
of  studying  history.  You  should  therefore  not 
only  remember  the  events  that  occurred,  but  try 
also  to  understand  the  causes  which  brought 
about  these  things. 

"  Let  me  tell  you  more  about  that  man  Mes- 
serve.  Although  he  had  resigned  when  he  came 
to  the  country,  he  had  no  right  then  to  act  as 
stamp  distributor,  because  he  had  no  commission. 
He  was  sent  out  to  this  country  to  act  in  that  ca- 
pacity when  the  law  should  go  into  operation, 
and  his  commission  should  be  sent  out  to  him 
from  England  ;  and,  as  I  told  you,  he  was  even 
forced  to  resign  then.  After  this  he  received  his 
commission  from  England." 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  139 

"  What  did  he  do  then,  sir  1" 

"  He  showed  his  commission  to  the  governor ; 
and  the  people  soon  found  out  that  he  had  got 
it,  and  supposed  that  he  intended  to  distribute 
the  stamps.  The  Sons  of  Liberty,  as  the  patriot- 
ic citizens  called  themselves,  took  the  alarm,  and 
immediately  collected  together  at  the  beat  of  the 
drum.  They  found  Messerve,  and  obliged  him 
publicly  to  give  up  his  commission  into  their 
hands.  These  papers  they  fastened  upon  the 
point  of  a  sword,  and  marched  with  them  tri- 
umphantly through  the  streets.  They  then  caus- 
ed him  to  take  an  oath  that  he  would  never  at- 
tempt to  execute  the  office  of  stamp  distributor." 

"  Then,  Uncle  Philip,  I  suppose  they  destroyed 
the  commission  ?" 

"  No,  they  did  not.  They  sealed  it  up,  and 
gave  it  into  the  hands  of  a  man  who  was  just 
then  ready  to  sail  for  England.  They  made  him 
swear  to  deliver  the  packet  as  it  was  directed. 
It  was  sent  to  the  agents  of  the  province  in  Eng- 
land ;  and  thus  the  matter  was  disposed  of. 

"  This  Stamp  Act  was  to  go  into  operation  on 
the  first  of  November.  On  the  last  day  of  Oc- 
tober, the  New-Hampshire  Gazette,  a  newspaper 
published  at  Portsmouth,  appeared  ornamented 
with  a  mourning  border.  A  body  of  the  people, 


140  HISTORY    OF 

supposing  that  the  stamps  would  be  distributed, 
came  down  from  the  country  and  approached  the 
town  of  Portsmouth,  but,  being  assured  that  no 
such  thing  was  intended,  they  quietly  returned." 

"  Uncle  Philip,  this  paper  was  still  in  the  Cas- 
tle at  Boston,  was  it  not  ?" 

"  Yes ;  it  was  never  brought  into  New-Hamp- 
shire. The  first  of  November,  the  day,  as  I  told 
you,  on  which  this  act  was  to  begin,  came,  and 
was  ushered  in  by  the  tolling  of  bells.  The  peo- 
ple of  Portsmouth  collected  and  formed  a  funer- 
al procession,  and  marched  about  the  town  car- 
rying a  coffin,  on  which  was  written  the  God- 
dess of  Liberty.  This  coffin  they  were  about  to 
put  in  the  grave,  when  signs  of  life  were  suppo- 
sed to  be  discovered,  and  they  marched  off  again 
in  triumph." 

"  Well,  Uncle  Philip,  I  am  glad  they  did  not 
bury  her.  It  showed  that  they  had  some  hope, 
and  were  determined  that  Liberty  should  not  be 
buried." 

"  I  am  glad  to  tell  you,  that  in  New-Hamp- 
shire, although  the  people  were  very  much  exci- 
ted, and  were  very  earnest  in  their  opposition  to 
the  Stamp  Act,  yet  there  were  no  disgraceful 
riots,  and  no  waste  of  property  or  personal  in- 
sults." 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  141 

"  Uncle  Philip,  where  was  Governor  Went- 
worth  all  this  time  1  I  should  be  glad  to  know 
what  he  thought  of  these  things.  Did  he  take 
sides  with  the  people  or  the  King  of  England  ?" 

"  Why,  my  lad,  he  was  very  quiet.  There 
had  been  no  tumults  which  called  for  the  exer- 
cise of  his  authority,  and  he  took  sides  openly 
neither  with  the  king  nor  people.  He  was,  I 
think,  unwilling  to  make  the  people  his  enemies, 
and  he  was  also  in  hopes  that  he  should  secure 
the  favour  and  friendship  of  King  George.  Some 
have  said  that  he  wanted  decision  and  independ- 
ence of  mind,  and  was  afraid  to  avow  his  opin- 
ions either  way.  But,  if  this  was  true,  there  is 
some  excuse  for  him  ;  for  he  was  at  this  time  an 
old  man,  and  his  health  was  very  feeble.  He 
had  governed  the  province,  too,  for  twenty-five 
years,  and  had  generally  been  liked  by  the  peo- 
ple ;  and  I  suppose  he  said  nothing,  because,  like 
most  old  men,  he  felt  that  his  days  at  best  were 
but  few,  and  he  wished  to  die  in  peace.  His 
quiet  example  was  followed  by  most  of  the 
king's  officers  in  New-Hampshire ;  and,  if  any 
of  them  were  secretly  in  favour  of  the  Stamp 
Act,  they  were  kept  back  by  fear  from  taking 
any  open  and  active  part. 

"  Now  go  on,  Henry,  and  tell  us,  if  you  please, 


142  HISTORY    OF 

how  these  petitions  from  America  were  treated 
m  England." 

"  Well,  Uncle  Philip,  many  men  in  the  Eng- 
lish Parrliament  opposed  these  petitions,  and 
Lord  Grenville  was  the  chief  man  among  them. 
But  Mr.  Pitt,  who  was  a  true  friend  of  the  colo- 
nies, made  a  speech  in  Parliament  in  favour  of 
America,  and  this  Stamp  Act  was  repealed.  And 
the  news  of  this  repeal  caused  great  rejoicing 
throughout  this  country." 

"  Yes ;  and  I  wish  to  tell  you  that,  after  the 
news  of  this  repeal  arrived  in  New-Hampshire, 
Governor  Wentworth  received  a  letter  also  from 
Mr.  Conway,  then  the  secretary  of  state  in  Eng- 
land. In  this  letter  the  secretary  stated  that 
'  Parliament  had  been  very  kind  to  the  colonies 
in  repealing  these  laws,'  and  told  them  *  that 
they  ought  to  be  very  grateful  and  obedient  to 
England  in  return.'  He  also  sent  to  the  govern- 
or an  act  of  Parliament,  requiring  that  any  per- 
son who  had  suffered  any  damage  by  the  late 
riots  should  be  paid  by  the  colonies  for  the  inju- 
ries they  had  received." 

"  The  Parliament  hardly  deserved  much  grat- 
itude from  the  colonies,  I  think,  Uncle  Philip,  for 
what  they  had  done.  It  was  only  repairing  an 
act  of  great  injustice ;  and  that  they  ought  to 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  143 

have  done  without  asking  or   expecting  any 
thanks." 

"  You  are  right,  my  lad  ;  and  so  the  colonies 
thought.  But  it  happened,  as  we  shall  see  here- 
after, that  they  did  not  repair  all  the  wrong. 

"  Governor  Wentworth  placed  this  letter  be- 
fore the  New-Hampshire  Assembly,  and  behaved 
like  a  gentleman ;  for  he  told  them  that  he  knew 
no  damages  which  they  had  done  that  called  for 
any  payment.  But,  children,  there  was  one  man 
base  enough  to  pretend  that  he  had  suffered  inju- 
ries, and  he  asked  the  Assembly  to  pay  him  for 
them." 

«  Who  was  that,  Uncle  Philip  ?" 
"  It  was  Messerve,  the  stamp  distributor." 
"  Well,  sir,  did  the  Assembly  pay  him  ?" 
"  They  told  him  that  his  pretence  of  injury 
was  false;  that  he  had  suffered  no  damage;  that, 
when  any  danger  had  threatened  him,  they  had 
taken  care  that  a  guard  was  ready  to  protect 
him  ;  and  they  should  not  give  him  anything." 
"  What  did  he  say  to  that,  sir  ?" 
"  He  left  the  country  and  went  back  to  Eng- 
land, where  he  was  made  a  collector  of  customs. 
"  But  I  must  tell  you  what  else  was  done  by 
this  Assembly.     They  passed  a  resolution  thank- 
ing the  king  and  Parliament  for  repealing  the 


144  HISTORV    OF 

Stamp  Act,  and  sent  over  their  address  to  Eng- 
land in  the  same  ship  that  carried  back  the 
stamped  paper  which  had  been  placed  in  the 
Castle  by  Governor  Bernard." 

"  Well,  Uncle  Philip,  I  think  that  Messerve 
was  a  base  fellow,  and,  whatever  others  may 
think  of  Governor  -Wentworth,  I  like  him  very 
much." 

"  Yes,  Thomas,  and  so  do  many  others  like 
his  character ;  but  there  are  others  with  whom 
he  was  no  favourite.  For  myself,  I  think  he  was 
wanting  in  decision  and  independence  of  char- 
acter during  these  Stamp  Act  difficulties.  It 
was  for  his  interest  to  be  still,  and  to  take  no 
part  unless  forced  to  do  so ;  but  I  like  men  who 
have  sufficient  regard  for  principle  to  prompt 
them  to  take  a  decided  stand  when  great  princi- 
ples are  in  danger.  Something,  however,  must 
be  allowed  to  an  old  and  feeble  man,  who  had 
seen  considerable  trouble  in  his  day,  and.  who 
wished  to  avoid  disturbance  now  that  his  day 
was  drawing  to  a  close. 

"  We  will  now  finish  what  we  have  to  say  of 
the  old  governor.  Complaints  had  been  sent 
against  him  to  England,  and  these  complaints 
had  made  many  enemies  for  him  there.  He  was 
charged  with  oppression  and  cruelty ;  but  I  do 


MEW-HAMPSHIRE.  145 

not  believe  that  these  charges  were  true,  for  I 
read  in  one  of  my  books  that  he  was  a  pious 
man,  and  that  he  did  all  he  could  to  have  the 
gospel  preached  regularly  in  his  province." 

"  "Well,  sir,  that  does  not  look  much  like  op- 
pression and  cruelty." 

"  But  it  was  determined  in  England  to  re- 
move him  from  his  place  and  to  make  a  new 
governor." 

"  That  was  rather  hard  for  the  old  man,  Uncle 
Philip." 

"  In  looking  round  for  some  man  to  fill  his 
place,  it  was  thought  that  Mr.  John  Wentworth, 
a  nephew  of  the  old  governor,  who  had  been 
one  of  the  agents  of  the  colony  in  England,  was 
the  proper  man  for  the  new  governor.  And 
now  I  wish  to  tell  you  something  of  this  young- 
er Mr.  Wentworth  which  will  cause  you  to  think 
highly  of  him.  He  knew  that  his  uncle  was  to 
be  removed  from  office,  and  .that  he  was  to  be 
made  governor  in  his  stead,  and  he  thought  this 
would  seem  disgraceful  to  the  old  gentleman, 
and  injure  his  feelings.  So  he  prevailed  on  the 
government  in  England  t :>  allow  the  old  man  the 
chance  to  resign  his  place  without  being  turned 
out." 

"  And  the  old  governor  resigned,  sir  ?" 
ii.— 12 


\4.6  HISTORY    OP 

"  Yes ;  and  his  nephew  came  over  as  govern- 
or, and  was  very  joyfully  received  at  Ports- 
mouth." 

"  Yes,  Uncle  Philip ;  for  he  was  well  known 
there  as  the  friend  of  the  people,  I  suppose." 

"  They  had  not  forgotten  the  aid  he  had  ren- 
dered them  in  their  petitions  relative  to  the 
Stamp  Act,  and  he  was  much  respected  for  his 
worth  and  talents.  And  now,  children,  we  will 
rest  for  the  present" 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  147 


CONVERSATION  IX. 

Uncle  Philip  tells  the  Children  about  the  new  Governor,  Mr. 
John  Wentworth— Dartmouth  College  founded— New-Hamp- 
shire divided  into  Counties — Peter  Livius— Troubles  with 
Great  Britain. 

"  WELL,  children,  we  are  all  here  again,  and 
Uncle  Philip  is  ready  to  go  on.  Mr.  Wentworth, 
the  governor,  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  of- 
fice determined  to  secure  the  good-will  of  the 
people,  and  anxious  to  promote  the  prosperity 
of  the  colony." 

"  Was  he  a  young  man,  sir  ?" 

"  Yes ;  he  was  in  the  prime  of  life,  active,  and 
enterprising,  and  possessed  many  amiable  and 
manly  traits  of  character  which  were  calculated 
to  please  the  people." 

"  One  thing  was  favourable  for  him,  Uncle 
Philip.  The  people  were  disposed  to  like  him  on 
account  of  what  he  had  done  for  the  colony 
while  he  was  in  England." 

"Yes,  and  there  was  another  thing  which 
made  him  more  popular  in  the  beginning  of  his 
administration.  He  owed  his  appointment  to 
those  men  who  had  brought  about  a  repeal  of 


148  HISTORY     OF 

the  Stamp  Act.  And  he  had  himself  aided  in 
securing  the  same  object.  The  people  were 
pleased  with  what  had  been  done,  although  they 
saw  difficulties  and  trials  still  before  them." 

"How  so,  Uncle  Philip?" 

"  I  shall  tell  you  of  that  pretty  soon  ;  but,  for 
the  present,  we  will  leave  bad  laws  and  dissatis- 
fied people,  and  talk  about  something  else.  The 
first  act  of  the  new  governor  was  directed  to- 
wards the  improvement  of  the  country.  He  was 
himself  active  in  exploring  the  country,  traver- 
sing forests,  and  looking  out  routes  for  roads ; 
and  set  the  example  of  cultivating  the  land  and 
clearing  up  the  forest. 

"  These  were  the  improvements  which  New- 
Hampshire  at  that  time  needed,  and  it  was  well 
that  the  people  had  for  their  governor  a  man 
who  took  an  interest  in  such  things. 

"  But  there  were  other  improvements,  chiefly 
the  result  of  individual  enterprise,  to  which  we 
will  direct  our  attention.  Look  upon  the  map, 
Caroline,  and  see  if  you  find  Dartmouth  College." 

"  Yes,  Uncle  Philip,  here  it  is,  situated  upon 
the  Connecticut  River,  in  the  town  of  Hanover." 

"  Do  you  all  see  the  place  1  Point  it  out, 
Caroline,  and  then  the  little  girls  can  see  where 
it  is.  I  am  going  to  talk  to  you  of  this  college. 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  149 

"  It  was  while  Mr.  Went  worth  was  governor 
that  this  college  was  founded,  and  I  think,  too, 
that  he  deserves  some  credit  for  helping  it  along. 
And  I  never  think  of  Dartmouth  College,  or  of 
any  of  those  schools  of  learning  which  were  so 
early  established,  without  feeling  that  the  lead- 
ing men  of  that  day  were  not  only  very  kind,  but 
very  wise  in  providing  for  education.  How 
much  better  is  it  for  any  country  to  seek  to  edu- 
cate the  rising  generation,  and  to  scatter  abroad 
sound  and  valuable  knowledge,  than  to  be  enga- 
ged in  quarrels  with  other  nations,  and  fighting 
for  victories  abroad.  Knowledge  is  power,  you 
have  often  heard  it  said  ;  and  it  is  the  best  and 
most  efficient  power  which  a  man  can  command 

"  There  was  Harvard  College  in  Massachu- 
setts, and  William  and  Mary  College  in  Virgin- 
ia, and  now  Dartmouth  College  in  New-Hamp- 
shire, all  founded  at  this  early  period  of  the  his- 
tory of  our  country.  Why,  my  children,  the 
people  who  settled  America  hardly  provided 
dwellings  for  themselves  before  they  set  to  work 
to  build  churches  and  establish  schools,  and  in 
this  way  it  was  that  they  laid  the  foundation  of 
the  prosperity  of  our  country." 

"  Uncle  Philip,  that  is  just  what  Mr.  Henry 
said  in  his  oration  last  fourth  of  July." 

N2 


150  HISTORY    OF 

"  Very  well,  Robert.  I  am  glad  that  Mr.  Hen- 
ry takes  that  view  of  the  case  ;  for  it  seems  to 
me  that,  if  our  old  fathers  had  not  provided  as 
they  did  for  religion  and  learning,  we  should 
never  have  had  spirit  and  steadiness  to  gain  our 
independence ;  and  I  am  sure  we  should  never 
have  possessed  sufficient  wisdom  and  strength 
of  principle  to  enable  us  to  govern  ourselves. 
But  let  us  return  to  Dartmouth  College. 

"  About  the  year  1760  there  was  a  very  good 
man  named  John  Sergeant,  who  came  to  this 
country  to  preach  to  the  Indians.  He  resided  for 
a  number  of  years  among  the  Indians  at  Stock- 
bridge,  in  Massachusetts.  He  had  been  very  dili- 
gent in  his  efforts,  and  made  himself  very  useful  j 
but  still  he  found  the  Indians  so  totally  ignorant 
and  unsettled  in  their  habitation — being  constant- 
ly wandering  from  place  to  place — that  his  reli- 
gious instructions  could  have  but  a  partial  influ- 
ence. He  had  observed  that  some  Indian  chil- 
dren, who  were  taken  into  the  families  of  the 
English  and  furnished  with  opportunities  to  gain 
learning,  were  anxious  to  improve,  and  made 
good  progress  in  their  books.  So  he  determined 
to  establish  a  school  for  them.  He  wished  to 
afford  them  the  means  of  learning,  and  to  in- 
struct them  to  live  and  labour  as  white  men  did." 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  151 

"  Did  he  make  Indian  books  for  them,  Uncle 
Philip  7" 

"  No.  He  wished  to  learn  them  the  English 
language  instead  of  their  rude  and  imperfect 
dialect.  He  made  known  his  plan  to  a  number 
of  benevolent  persons,  and  many  thought  well 
of  it,  and  gave  him  money  to  found  his  school. 
This  was  in  the  year  1769.  He  began  his  school 
at  Stockbridge,  and  had  the  Indian  children 
placed  under  the  care  of  one  teacher,  who  taught 
them  how  to  read  and  write,  and  another  who 
instructed  them  in  agriculture.  The  little  Indian 
girls  were  taught  by  a  female  such  kind  of  work 
as  suited  their  sex.  But,  just  as  Mr.  Sergeant 
began  to  see  his  school  improving,  he  died." 

"  And  the  poor  Indian  children  were  left  again, 
Uncle  Philip,  without  a  teacher  7" 

"  No  ;  they  found  friends  still.  After  this 
good  missionary's  death,  a  man  named  Wheelock 
undertook  the  plan  and  revived  the  school.  He 
too  had  been  trying  to  teach  the  Indians,  and 
found  they  were  able  and  anxious  to  learn.  He 
had  friends,  too,  who  gave  him  money  to  assist 
him ;  and  among  them  was  a  Mr.  Moor,  who 
took  considerable  interest,,  and  gave  the  largest 
sum  of  money  j  and  the  school  was  named  Moor's 
School. 


152  HISTORY    OP 

"  To  increase  the  means  of  improvement,  aid 
was  sought  in  England  and  Scotland,  as  well  as 
in  the  colonies.  The  money  collected  in  Eng- 
land was  placed  in  the  hands  of  trustees ;  at  the 
head  of  these  trustees  was  the  Earl  of  Dart- 
mouth." ^ 

"  Yes,  Uncle  Philip,  and  it  was  called  Dart- 
mouth College  after  him,  I  suppose." 

"You  will  learn  presently.  Dr.  Wheelock 
thought  that  it  would  be  better  for  the  school  if 
he  were  to  take  in  white  children  as  well  as  In- 
dians. He  supposed  that  the  example  of  the 
English  boys  would  stimulate  the  Indians,  espe- 
cially in  working  the  soil ;  for  the  Indians  are 
never  fond  of  labour  of  that  sort." 

"  They  prefer  to  hunt  game  and  catch  fish, 
Uncle  Philip." 

"  The  school  now  increased  so  fast  that  it  was 
thought  best  to  remove  it  to  some  other  part  of 
the  country,  where  they  could  find  more  land  to 
cultivate." 

"  Where  was  it  now,  sir  1" 

"  Dr.  Wheelock's  school  was  at  Lebanon,  in 
Connecticut.  When  it  was  known  that  it  was 
proposed  to  remove  this  school,  Governor  Went- 
worth  offered  Dr.  Wheelock  the  township  of  Han- 
over as  a  place  for  its  new  situation.  The  doc- 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  153 

tor  accepted  the  invitation,  moved  the  school  to 
what  was  then  a  forest,  and  it  was  called  Dart- 
mouth College,  in  honour  of  the  Earl  of  Dart- 
mouth. Dr.  Wheelock  was  the  first  president, 
and  he  now  found  himself  at  the  head  of  an  in- 
stitution which  seemed  to  promise  great  good. 
There  had  been  given  for  the  support  of  the  col- 
lege between  forty  and  fifty  thousand  acres  of 
land,  and  considerable  money  both  in  this  coun- 
try and  in  England." 

"  How  many  boys  were  there  at  that  time  in 
the  school,  sir  1" 

"  Twenty-four ;  and  of  these  only  six  were  In- 
dians/' 

"  Why,  Uncle  Philip,  I  should  have  thought 
that  the  Indian  boys  would  have  been  glad  to 
go  to  school." 

"  No ;  as  Thomas  said  just  now,  they  were  too 
fond  of  roving  in  the  woods,  and  hunting  game, 
and  catching  fish,  and  all  that  wild  sort  of  life, 
ever  to  think  of  going  to  school.  Dr.  Wheelock 
himself  gave  it  a  fair  trial,  and  he  used  to  say 
that,  out  of  forty  who  had  been  under  him,  twen- 
ty returned  again  to  the  woods  and  to  the  Indian 
mode  of  life,  refusing  to  live  with  the  white 
men.  And  I  have  heard  of  one  who  went  to 
this  college,  remained  there  for  some  tune,  learned 


154  HISTORY    OF 

well,  and  behaved  like  a  civilized  man.  But  he 
was  allowed  to  go  back  and  see  his  Indian 
friends.  When  again  in  the  wild,  free  forest,  he 
forgot  his  school  and  his  books,  stripped  off  the 
clothes  which  the  white  men  had  given  him,  and 
threw  a  blanket  over  his  shoulders,  and  declared 
that  an  Indian  he  was  born,  and  an  Indian  he 
would  always  be  ;  that  the  sun  never  changed,  and 
he  would  never  change" 

"  Uncle  Philip,  that  Indian  was  a  strange  fel- 
low/' 

"  So  we  think ;  but  if  he  were  here,  he  would 
call  us  strange  fellows  to  be  living  in  houses  and 
cultivating  the  fields,  when  there  are  lakes,  and 
streams,  and  woods,  where  game  and  fish  are 
abundant. 

"  As  I  told  you,  Dr.  Wheelock  removed  his 
school  into  the  forest.  The  first  buildings  which 
were  occupied  for  the  college  were  nothing  more 
than  rude  huts,  built  of  logs,  in  the  midst  of  the 
green  old  trees.  The  place  where  these  huts 
were  erected  was  a  beautifu.  plain  on  the  bank 
of  the  Connecticut,  elevated  considerably  above 
the  surface  of  the  river.  It  is  now  a  beautiful 
village,  having  all  the  greenness  and  neatness  of 
a  New-England  town,  with  its  fine  college  edi- 
fices and  its  neat  private  dwellings.  A  few 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  ,.       155 

years  since,  a  splendid  full-length  likeness  of  the 
Earl  of  Dartmouth,  copied  from  a  painting  by 
Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  was  presented  to  the  col- 
lege by  one  of  the  earl's  descendants,  and  is  pre- 
served in  the  college  library." 

"  Uncle  Philip,  do  the  Indian  boys  go  there 
now  to  be  educated  ?" 

"  Very  few  indeed.  For  many  years  Moor's 
School  was  kept  up,  distinct  from  the  college  it- 
self; but  that  is  now  closed,  and  scarcely  any  of 
the  children  of  the  Indians  go  to  Dartmouth  to 
be  educated. 

"  The  founding  of  Dartmouth  College  was 
one  thing  done  in  the  time  of  Mr.  Wentworth. 
I  will  now  tell  you  of  another  thing,  which  was 
a  small  matter,  but  which  proved  useful  to  the 
people  in  New-Hampshire.  You  see  on  the  map 
that  this  state,  like  New-York  and  the  other 
states,  is  divided  into  counties." 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Well,  Governor  Wentworth  made  this  divis- 
ion— not  just  as  you  see  it  now,  for  Merrimack 
and  Sullivan  counties  have  been  formed  since — 
by  dividing  the  larger  counties.  The  state  was 
at  first  made  into  five  counties,  which  were  na- 
med after  some  of  the  governor's  friends  in  Eng- 
land. They  were  Rockingham,  Strafford,  Hills- 


156  HISTORY    OF 

borough,  Cheshire,  and  Grafton.  This  division 
added  greatly  to  the  convenience  of  the  people ; 
for  before  this  they  had  been  carried  from  all 
parts  of  the  state  to  Portsmouth  whenever  the 
courts  were  held,  but  now  each  county  was  al- 
lowed its  own  court. 

"About  this  time,  that  is,  in  the  year  1761, 
the  governor  had  some  difficulties  with  a  man 
named  Peter  Livius,  who  made  an  effort  to  ob- 
tain the  dismissal  of  Mr.  Wentworth  from  his 
office." 

"  What  was  the  cause  of  this  difficulty,  sir  1" 

"  This  Mr.  Livius  had  for  several  years  been 
an  officer  of  the  courts  of  New-Hampshire,  but, 
on  the  division  of  the  state  into  counties,  he  had 
been  left  out.  Finding  himself  overlooked  in 
the  new  appointments,  he  went  over  to  England, 
and,  when  there,  entered  his  complaints  against 
the  governor." 

"  What  were  the  charges,  Uncle  Philip  ?" 

"  He  charged  him  with  injustice  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  province,  with  neglect  of  duty, 
and  with  partiality  towards  his  friends." 

"  Were  these  charges  true,  sir  ?" 

"  They  were  not  proved,  certainly  ;  and  I  be- 
lieve they  had  no  foundation  in  truth.  Persons 
of  all  ranks  and  professions  united  in  testifying 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  157 

N 

in  the  governor's  favour ;  and,  when  the  matter 
was  reported  to  the  king,  he  dismissed  the  com- 
plaints." 

"  And  acquitted  Mr.  Wentworth,  sir  1" 

"  Yes.  In  this  matter,  Livius  found  in  Eng- 
land some  persons  who  were  anxious  to  have 
the  governor  dismissed;  and  they  did  all  they 
could  to  favour  Livius  in  this  controversy.  When 
they  could  not  succeed,  they  obtained  for  him  the 
appointment  of  chief-justice  of  New-Hampshire." 

"  Well,  Uncle  Philip,  he  was  a  troublesome 
fellow." 

"  Yes ;  and  his  friends  finally  thought  that,  if 
he  returned  to  New-Hampshire  as  chief-justice, 
it  would  only  make  disturbance,  and,  perhaps, 
involve  them  all  in  trouble ;  so  he  accepted  an 
office  in  Canada,  and  went  to  Quebec." 

"  The  people  of  New-Hampshire  must  have 
been  pleased,  sir,  with  the  result." 

"  Yes  ;  when  the  news  reached  them,  a  gen- 
eral satisfaction  appeared  among  them.  At  the 
next  session  of  the  Assembly  they  presented  the 
governor  an  address,  in  which  they  congratula- 
ted him  for  his  escape  from  these  difficulties; 
and  a  general  joy  pervaded  the  towji  of  Ports- 
mouth. 

"  And  now,  my  children,  that  we  have  looked 

VOL.    II.- 


158  HISTORY    OF 

at  home  a  little  while,  and  seen  how  the  people 
were  getting  on  in  some  of  their  affairs,  we  will 
turn  our  attention  abroad,  and  see  what  the  peo- 
ple in  England  were  doing  in  reference  to  the 
colonies.  Although  the  Stamp  Act  was  repeal- 
ed, as  I  told  you,  the  government  of  England 
seemed  determined  to  be  the  master  of  America  ; 
for,  very  soon  after  this  difficulty  was  removed, 
another  law  was  made,  as  you  know,  to  tax  tea, 
and  glass,  and  paints  which  were  sent  into  this 
country." 

"  Yes,  Uncle  Philip  ;  and  I  recollect  that  the 
Parliament  said  that  they  had  power  to  bind 
the  colonies  in  all  cases." 

"  Very  well ;  can  you  tell  me  what  the  people 
determined  to  do  respecting  this  law  ?" 

"  Yes,  sir  ;  many  of  the  colonies  entered  into 
an  agreement  not  to  bring  these  articles  into 
America." 

"  Yes ;  and  this  spirited  and  determined  con- 
duct of  the  colonies  caused  the  English  Parlia- 
ment to  take  off  the  duties  on  all  articles  except- 
ing tea,  and  that,  boys,  was  very  foolishly,  and,  I 
think,  wickedly  continued." 

"  And,  Uncle  Philip,  I  suppose  that  the  Brit- 
ish know  now  that  it  was  wrong ;  for,  like  many 
others,  they  have  learned  a  sad  lesson  by  e  pe- 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  159 

rience.  And  I  should  have  thought,  sir,  that, 
when  the  tea  was  thrown  overboard  at  Boston, 
it  was  time  to  put  a  stop  to  such  a  law.  The 
fact  is,  if  England  had  been  wise,  and  had  treated 
us  kindly,  as  we  deserved,  we  should  have  been 
colonies  of  Great  Britain  now  ;  for  the  Ameri- 
cans loved  Old  England,  and  I  have  often  heard 
old  men  speak  highly  of  King  George  the  Third." 

"Yes,  boys,  there  is  no  doubt  of  one  thing. 
Our  ancestors  were  attached  to  their  old  home 
and  to  the  king,  and  fought  only  when  they 
found  that  the  King  of  England  was  not  content- 
ed to  treat  them  as  subjects,  but  was  anxious  to 
make  them  his  slaves.  It  was  tyranny  in  the 
British  king  and  Parliament  which  led  the  colo- 
nies to  assert  their  "rights  and  to  battle  for  free- 
dom. They  were  Englishmen,  the  sons  of  Eng- 
lishmen, a  part  of  a  brave  nation  that  would 
never  submit  to  slavery  ;  and,  if  the  administra- 
tion in  England  had  reflected  at  all,  they  would 
have  seen  that  men  of  like  temper  and  like  feel- 
ings with  themselves  would  never  endure  op- 
pression and  submit  to  injustice  without  a  strong 
effort  to  resist  it  in  every  shape. 

"  But  let  us  go  on  and  see  how  the  people  in 
New-Hampshire  treated  the  tea  that  was  sent 
over  to  that  state. 


160  HISTORY    OF 

"  The  first  cargo  that  came  over  was  landed 
and  stored  at  the  custom-house  before  it  was 
generally  known  that  it  had  arrived.  Imme- 
diately a  public  meeting  of  the  people  was  call- 
ed, and  it  was  proposed-  to  the  man  to  whose 
care  it  was  sent  that  it  should  be  sent  back." 

"  Did  he  do  it,  sir  ?" 

"  Yes,  he  consented  to  send  it  away.  A  guard 
was  appointed  to  watch  the  place  where  it  was 
stored,  and  the  governor  kept  the  magistrates  and 
peace-officers  ready  to  prevent  any  riotous  inter- 
ference. The  tea  was  peaceably  put  on  board 
of  the  vessel  and  sent  to  Halifax. 

"  A  second  cargo  was  sent  to  the  same  man ; 
and  this  occasioned  some  disturbance.  A  party 
assembled  around  his  house,  and  proceeded  to 
break  in  his  windows.  He  applied  to  the  gov- 
ernor for  protection.  The  governor  called  a 
meeting  of  his  council,  and  the  tea  was  allowed 
to  be  reshipped  ;  and  this  also  was  sent  to  Hal- 
ifax. 

"  Just  about  this  time  the  city  of  Boston  suf- 
fered more  than  any  other  part  of  the  country 
from  the  operation  of  this  law.  There  the  tea 
was  destroyed,  as  I  told  you  in  our  Conversations 
about  Massachusetts.*  The  English  govern- 
*  See  Uncle  Philip's  History  of  Massachusetts. 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  101 

ment  were  so  enraged  by  the  conduct  of  the 
Boston  people,  that  their  port  was  shut  up,  and 
guarded  by  British  ships-of-war.  So  that  in 
Boston  the  merchants  and  tradesmen  were  suf- 
fering very  much  from  the  interruption  of  their 
business." 

"  Yes,  Uncle  Philip,  I  remember  that  all  the 
other  colonies  sent  relief  to  the  people  of  Bos- 
ton, and  helped  their  friends  a  great  deal  in  their 
distress." 

"  But  this  was  not  all  that  was  done :  it  was 
determined  among  the  colonies  to  have  another 
Congress." 

"  And  that  other  Congress,  sir,  was  the  great 
Congress  of  1774,  which  met  in  Philadelphia." 

"  True,  my  lad ;  but  do  not  move  on  so  fast, 
if  you  please.  Just  at  this  time  the  New-Hamp- 
shire Assembly  was  sitting,  and  the  members  ad- 
vised that  citizens  should  be  sent  as  delegates 
from  all  the  towns  to  meet  at  Exeter." 

"  Uncle  Philip,  was  Governor  Wentworth  in 
favour  of  this  Congress  ?" 

"  The  governor  was  an  officer  under  the  king, 
and  was  bound  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  prevent 
the  meeting  of  the  Congress,  as  had  been  pro- 
posed. When  these  matters  were  taken  up  in 

his  Assembly,  he  adjourned,  and,  after  a  few 
ii.— 13 


162  HISTORY    OF 

days,  dissolved  it,  hoping  in  this  way  to  put  a 
stop  to  their  sending  delegates  to  the  Colonial 
Congress.  But  the  representatives  met  again, 
without  the  consent  of  the  governor.  They  then 
made  arrangements  for  having  a  meeting  of  del- 
egates at  Exeter,  as  I  said.  They  also  recom- 
mended that  a  day  be  set  apart  and  observed  as 
a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer,  on  account  of  the 
gloomy  appearance  of  public  affairs. 

"  At  the  meeting  at  Exeter  eighty-five  persons 
appeared,  and  they  chose  two  men  to  attend  the 
Congress  as  delegates." 

"  Who  were  these  two  men,  sir  ?" 

"  Nathaniel  Folsom  and  John  Sullivan.  These 
men  attended  the  Congress  which  met  at  Phila- 
delphia in  1774.  You  all  remember  the  Decla- 
ration of  Rights  which  that  Congress  sent  to 
England?" 

"  Oh  yes,  Uncle  Philip ;  and  you  said  we 
ought  all  us  of  to  see  it  and  read  it.  And  after- 

O 

ward  I  got  my  father  to  show  it  to  me,  and  I 
read  it.  Ah,  sir,  that  was  a  noble  declaration  ; 
but  I  did  not  understand  it  all." 

"  I  suppose  not ;  but  you  will  hereafter,  when 
you  look  at  it  again. 

"The  governor  now  saw  that  New-Hamp- 
shire would  join  with  the  other  colonies  in  a 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  163 

union  to  resist  the  laws  of  Parliament.  But  he 
did  the  people  the  justice  to  say  that  they  ab- 
stained from  violence  and  outrage,  and  that  the 
laws  had  their  course  among  them.  In  his  let- 
ters which  he  wrote  to  England  at  this  time,  he 
seems  to  speak  of  the  people  with  candour  and 
kindness.  He  wished  to  prevent  trouble,  if 
he  could.  In  one  of  his  letters,  he  said,  '  Our 
country  is  in  a  state  of  trouble  and  disturbance. 
If  I  can  at  last  bring  out  of  it  all  safety  to  my 
country  and  honour  to  my  sovereign,  ray  labours 
will  be  joyful.' 

"  But  it  was  impossible,  in  the  state  of  things 
which  then  existed,  for  the  governor  to  please 
the  people  of  New-Hampshire  and  the  King  of 
England  too.  He  must  lose  the  confidence  and 
affection  of  one  or  the  other.  We  shall  see  pres- 
ently how  he  came  out  of  the  difficulty. 

"  You  know  how  joyfully  the  people  of  Amer- 
ica received  the  Declaration  of  Rights  which 
was  drawn  up  by  Congress,  and  how  it  affected 
the  English  king  and  Parliament.  And  perhaps 
you  remember,  too,  that  those  laws  which  re- 
strained the  trade  of  New-England  and  the 
Southern  colonies  were  made  in  England  imme- 
diately after  this." 

"  Yes,  sir ;  and  I  remember  that  New-York, 


164  HISTORY    OF 

North  Carolina,  and  Delaware  were  excepted  in 
those  laws ;  and  you  said  that  this  was  a  plan  of 
the  English  for  separating  the  colonies  ;  but 
those  states  which  were  exeepted  were  too  pa- 
triotic to  accept  such  kind  of  favour  from  Par- 
liament." 

"  Very  good  j  and  you  have  not  forgotten, 
too,  that  laws  were  passed  about  keeping  Eng- 
lish soldiers  in  America ;  and  the  king  gave  his 
command  that  no  ammunition  or  military  stores 
should  be  brought  to  America.  This  last  act 
gave  great  offence  ;  and  I  must  tell  you  how  it 
was  treated  in  New-Hampshire. 

"  Fort  William  and  Mary  stands  at  the  en- 
trance of  Piscataqua  Harbour,  and  there  the 
English  had  arms  and  ammunition  ;  but  the  fort 
was  guarded  only  by  a  very  few  soldiers.  News 
was  brought  by  express  to  Portsmouth  of  the 
law  respecting  arms  and  ammunition.  A  com- 
pany of  citizens  immediately  collected,  and,  be- 
fore the  governor  knew  anything  of  their  inten- 
tions, they  had  made  their  attack  upon  the  fort. 
The  captain  and  his  five  men,  which  were  all 
the  garrison  at  the  fort,  were  immediately  seized, 
and  a  hundred  barrels  of  powder  were  carried 
off.  On  the  next  day  another  party  went  to  the 
fort,  and  removed  fifteen  cannon  and  all  the 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  165 

small  arms  they  could  find,  with  some  other  mili- 
tary stores.  These  they  distributed  in  the  several 
towns,  to  serve  them  in  their  defence.  The  two 
men  who  distinguished  themselves  most  in  this 
affair  were  Major  John  Sullivan  and  Captain 
John  Langclon.  And,  my  lads,  these  men  made 
a  fortunate  escape.  They  had  hardly  finished 
their  work,  when  two  British  vessels  arrived 
with  several  companies  of  soldiers.  They  im- 
mediately took  possession  of  the  fort,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  make  it  strong." 

"  And  so,  Uncle  Philip,  the  king  sent  a  mili- 
tary force  to  Portsmouth  as  well  as  to  Boston." 

"  Yes." 

"  What  did  Governor  Wentworth  think  of 
these  things,  sir  ?" 

"  The  governor  put  the  five  men  who  belonged 
to  the  fort  on  board  one  of  the  ships  of  war, 
that  they  might  be  ready  to  be  called  upon  to 
give  witness  if  any  of  those  persons  should  be 
seized  and  tried  for  breaking  into  the  fort  and 
carrying  off  the  arms.  He  also  thought  it  his 
duty  to  dismiss  from  office  all  those  persons  who 
he  knew  were  concerned  in  the  attack.  He 
then  sent  out  a  proclamation,  requiring  the  peo- 
ple to  assist  him  in  taking  the  men  who  had 
committed  this  outrage,  wherever  they  could  be 


166  HISTORY    OF 

found.  But  I  believe  none  of  them  were  ever 
taken  or  brought  to  trial." 

"  Uncle  Philip,  that  was  bold  work  done  by 
these  men." 

"  Yes,  Charles :  and  it  was  time  for  men  to 
be  acting  boldly,  for  this  was  no  common  quar- 
rel. The  English  soon  made  it  evident  that 
they  were  determined  to  subdue  this  bold  spirit. 
Among  other  things  which  showed  this  deter- 
mination, the  governor  and  some  of  his  friends 
thought  it  best  to  form  an  association  for  the 
support  of  the  king's  government  and  for  their 
mutual  defence.  They  boasted  that  a  hundred 
men  could  be  procured  from  the  ships  at  a  mo- 
ment's warning." 

"  What  could  a  hundred  men  do  against  the 
people,  sir  ?" 

"  Surely  nothing ;  and  the  governor  only  show- 
ed the  weakness  of  his  party  and  his  cause. 
They  had  the  whole  country  against  them,  and 
the  king's  hundred  soldiers  would  have  beer 
crushed  at  a  blow  if  the  people  had  said  the 
word. 

"  In  the  winter  of  this  year,  1775,  another 
meeting  of  deputies  was  held  at  Exeter." 

"  What  was  that  meeting  for,  sir  ?" 

"  They  met  to  consult  on  the  state  of  aifairs3 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  167 

and  to  appoint  delegates  for  the  next  General 
Congress.  This  Convention  sent  out  an  address 
to  the  people,  telling  them  of  their  danger,  and 
exhorting  them  to  be  united  and  harmonious. 
They  told  them  that  they  ought  to  be  industrious 
and  prudent,  and  to  prepare  themselves  by  mili- 
tary exercise  to  defend  their  country  if  the  foe 
should  come  against  them." 


168  HISTORY   OP 


CONVERSATION  X. 

Uncle  Philip  talks  about  the  gloomy  state  of  4ffairs  in  the 
Colony— TRfc  Battle  of  Lexington  in  Massachusetts,  and  the 
assistance  of  the  New-Hampshire  People — Declaration  of 
American  Independence. 

THE  winter  of  this  year  (1775)  passed  away 
in  anxiety  and  gloomy  uncertainty.  The  peo- 
ple saw  that  the  troubles  between  England  and 
the  colonies  were  every  day  taking  a  more  se- 
rious and  obstinate  form.  Some  were  alarmed 
for  their  own  safety  and  the  preservation  of  their 
property ;  others  thought  more  of  the  public  in- 
terests, and  feared  that  Great  Britain  would  send 
a  force  to  compel  the  colonies  to  submit.  Eng- 
land did  not  know  how  strong  the  colonies  were ; 
nor  did  the  colonies  themselves  know  their  own 
strength  and  resources. 

"  In  the  mean  while,  the  newspapers  were 
busy  discussing  the  state  of  affairs,  and  present- 
ing the  arguments  on  both  sides.  The  people 
had,  more  than  once,  fairly  and  candidly  stated 
their  grievances  to  the  Parliament  and  ministry 
of  Great  Britain ;  but  these  statements  had  done 
no  good,  and  there  was  no  disposition  on  the 
part  of  England  to  yield." 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  169 

"  Uncle  Philip,  some  of  the  English  people 
were  the  friends  of  the  colonies.  There  was  Mr. 
Pitt,  and  Lord  Camden,  and  the  Marquis  of 
Rockingham." 

"  Yes :  and  many  of  the  merchants  of  Lon- 
don and  Bristol  aided  the  petitions  which  were 
sent  over  from  this  country.  Indeed,  the  first 
news  that  came  out  in  the  spring  of  this  year 
seemed  favourable,  and,  for  the  time,  revived  the 
hopes  of  the  colonies.  But  it  was  not  long  be- 
fore it  was  known  in  this  country  that  Parliament 
nad  voted  that  Massachusetts  was  in  a  state  of 
rebellion,  and  that  the  other  colonies  were  aiding 
and  encouraging.  It  was  also  resolved  that  the 
British  army  should  be  increased ;  and  it  now 
seemed  certain  that  the  attempt  would  be  made 
to  compel  the  colonies  to  submit  to  the  injustice 
of  the  British  Parliament.  It  seemed  inevitable 
that  war  must  come,  and  the  people  did  what 
they  could  to  prepare  themselves  for  it. 

"  The  conduct  of  General  Gage,  the  military 
governor  of  Massachusetts,  hastened  on  the  con- 
flict. You  all  remember  the  battle  of  Lexing- 
ton !"* 

"  Certainly,  Uncle  Philip ;  it  took  place  in 
April  of  1775." 

*  Uncle  Philip's  History  of  Massachusetts 
VOL.   II. — P 


170  HISTORY    OP 

"  On  the  alarm  of  this  hostility,  the  people  of 
New-Hampshire,  as  well  as  several  other  colo- 
nies, took  arms,  and  hastened  to  the  assistance  of 
Massachusetts. 

"  And  yet,  after  all  this,  I  must  tell  you  that 
Governor  Wentworth  hoped  to  be  able  '  to  plant 
the  root  of  peace  in  New-Hampshire.'  He  call- 
ed a  new  Assembly,  and  entreated  them  to  take 
measures  to  secure  their  peace  and  safety." 

"  What  did  they  say  to  this,  sir  ?" 

"  They  told  the  governor  that  they  would  re- 
flect upon  what  was  best  to  be  done,  and  confer 
with  the  people,  and  then  come  together  again. 

"  Before  they  assembled  again,  the  men  on 
board  of  the  British  ships  began  to  destroy  the 
fort  William  and  Mary.  They  also  stopped  two 
vessels  laden  with  provisions  which  were  coming 
into  the  harbour,  and  refused  to  let  them  go. 
Upon  this  a  body  of  armed  men  went  to  a  bat- 
tery below  the  town  on  Great  Island,  and  seized 
eight  cannon,  which  they  brought  up  to  Ports- 
mouth. While  they  were  engaged  in  this  work, 
the  British  took  the  two  provision  vessels  and 
sailed  for  Boston,  for  the  supply  of  the  fleet  and 
army  there." 

"  Did  the  governor  approve  of  this,  sir  ?" 

"  No,  he-  tried  to  prevent  it  j  for  he  was  en- 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  171 

deavouring  to  make  peace,  and  these-  things 
were  increasing  the  quarrel. 

"  Another  Convention  was  now  sitting  at  Ex- 
eter, in  which  the  province  was  very  fully  rep- 
resented. They  declared  that  the  citizens  who 
had  plundered  the  fort  had  acted  bravely.  They 
also  directed  how  the  members  of  the  Assembly 
should  vote  when  the  governor  should  call  them 
together  again. 

"  The  Assembly  met,  and  the  governor  again 
recommended  that  they  should  try  to  make  peace 
and  remain  quiet.  But  the  first  thing  the  House 
did  was  to  expel  three  new  members  whom  the 
governor  had  called  in  from  some  new  towns." 

"  Why  did  they  do  that,  sir  ?" 

"  They  said  those  memberjs  had  no  right  there. 
There  were  other  older  towns  which  were  not 
represented,  and  they  would  not  allow  the  gov- 
ernor to  pick  his  men  and  bring  them  in  to  vote 
against  them. 

"  This  offended  the  governor  very  much,  and 
he  adjourned  the  House.  One  of  the  members 
who  had  been  expelled  talked  very  violently 
about  the  Assembly,  and,  being  threatened  by  the 
people,  he  took  shelter  in  Mr.  Wentworth's 
house.  But  the  citizens  were  n^t  satisfied  with 
this,  ?nd  they  moved  a  cannon  before  the  gov- 


172  HISTORY    OF 

ernor's  house,  pointed  it  directly  to  the  door,  and 
demanded  the  man  who  had  insulted  them.  The 
governor  was  forced  to  give  him  up,  and  he  was 
carried  to  Exeter.  Mr.  Wentworth  thought  him- 
self badly  used,  so  he  retired  and  took  shelter  in 
the  fort. 

"  When  the  Assembly  met  again,  the  govern- 
or sent  a  message  from  the  fort  and  adjourned 
them,  but  they  never  met  again.  He  therefore 
remained  at  the  fort  until  the  vessels  of  war  were 
ready  to  sail,  and  then  went  to  Boston.  After 
this,  however,  he  came  to  the  Isles  of  Shoals, 
and  sent  his  proclamation  to  the  Assembly  ;  and 
this  was  the  last  act  of  his  government,  and  the 
last  time  he  was  ever  in  New-Hampshire." 

"  Well,  Uncle  Philip,  I  think  Mr.  Wentworth 
was  not  a  bad  man." 

"  So  I  think  too.  Compared  with  most  of  the 
other  governors  in  the  provinces  at  this  critical 
time,  he  was,  perhaps,  as  prudent  and  temperate 
as  any  of  them." 

"  He  tried  to  be  faithful,  and  to  settle  the  dif- 
ficulties, sir." 

"  While  he  could  act  agreeably  to  his  own 
principles,  his  adminstration  was  useful  and  pop- 
ular. He  meant  to  do  well  and  to  live  peacea- 
bly with  the  people,  and,  instead  -of  increasing 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  173 

the  troubles  between  the  mother  country  and  her 
provinces,  he  sought  to  remove  them ;  and,  whej» 
his  efforts  failed  in  this,  he  retired  from  a  situa 
tion  where  he  could  no  longer  be  useful,  leaving 
behind  him  his  property  and  many  of  his  friends 

"  Let  us  now  return  to  the  war.  On  the  firs/ 
alarm,  nearly  twelve  hundred  men  marched  from 
the  nearest  parts  of  New-Hampshire  to  the  aid 
of  Massachusetts,  whose  soldiers  were  assembled 
around  Boston.*  Some  of  these  men  returned 
to  their  homes,  and  the  remainder  were  formed 
into  two  regiments. 

"  As  soon  as  the  provincial  Congress  of  New- 
Hampshire  met,  they  resolved  to  raise  another 
regiment  also.  The  command  of  one  of  the 
regiments  was  given  to  John  Stark,  of  whose 
captivity  among  the  Indians  I  told  you  the  other 
day.  And  here  let- me  say  that  Stark  was  pres- 
ent at  the  memorable  battle  of  Bunker's  Hill, 
and,  with  his  brave  New-Hampshire  boys  post- 
ed behind  a  fence,  he  sorely  annoyed  the  Brit- 
ish as  they  advanced  to  the  attack,  and  cut  them 
down  by  ^hole  ranks  at  once." 

"  Did  the  other  regiment  join  the  army  at 
Boston,  Uncle  Philip  ?" 

"Yes;  immediately  after  this  battle,  the  third 

*  Uncle  Philip's  History  of  Massachusetts,  vol.  ii.,  p.  138. 


174  HISTORY    OF 

regiment  collected  and  marched  to  the  camp, 
and,  with  the  other  New-Hampshire  troops,  were 
posted  on  Winter  Hill.  ~^> 

"  The  British  soldiers  had  generally  believed, 
my  children,  that  the  Americans  would  not  dare 
to  fight  with  them." 

"  Well,  sir,  I  should  have  thought  that  the 
battle  of  Bunker's  Hill  would  have  taught  them 
that  the  Americans  had  courage  enough,  and 
strength  enough  too,  if  you  give  them  an  equal 
chance." 

"Yes 5  the  losses  which  they  met  with  in  that 
battle  made  them  feel  that  fighting  the  Ameri- 
cans was  a  serious  thing ;  and  I  think,  children, 
that  through  all  the  war  they  remembered  that 
day. 

"  But  let  us  go  back  a  little.  WTiile  the  ves- 
sels of  war  remained  in  the  harbour  of  Piscat- 
aqua,  quarrels  frequently  took  place  between  the 
British  officers  and  the  citizens  of  Portsmouth. 
The  officers  seized  the  vessels  bound  for  Ports- 
mouth, and  would  not  even  allow  the  ooats  be- 
longing to  the  river  to  go  out  and  fish.  After 
the  English  ships  had  gone,  parties  of  the  citi- 
zens, under  the  direction  of  a  man  named  Eze- 
kiel  Worthen,  went  down  the  river,  about  a  mile 
below  the  town,  and  built  there,  on  the  points  ot 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  175 

the  islands,  two  forts  ;  and  they  named  the  forts 
after  two  brave  American  soldiers,  Washington 
and  Sullivan.  The  cannon  which  had  heen 
saved  from  the  old  fort  they  placed  here,  and 
thus  made  the  town  secure,  as  they  thought, 
against  the  British  ships  of  war.  And  it  was 
fortunate  that  this  was  done  just  at  the  time  it 
was  j  for,  not  long  after  this,  some  English  ships 
attacked  and  partly  destroyed  the  town  of  Fal- 
mouth  j  and  it  was  said  that  Portsmouth  was  to 
be  treated  in  the  same  way.  For  fear  of  this, 
General  Washington  sent  General  Sullivan  from 
Cambridge,  and  these  works  were  made  stronger, 
and  then  they  sunk  an  old  ship  in  the  narrow 
channel  of  the  river  to  prevent  the  English  ves- 
sels from  coming  up.  And  I  have  no  doubt, 
boys,  that  these  preparations  saved  the  town, 
and  caused  the  English  to  abandon  their  plan." 

"  Well,  sir,  the  New-Hampshire  troops  were 
not  idle." 

"  Besides  the  three  regiments'  which  were  fur- 
nished for  the  aid  of  Massachusetts,  companies 
were  raised  to  guard  the  forts,  and  some  troops 
were  stationed  upon  the  Connecticut  River.  And 
then  other  men,  all  over  the  state,  were  selected 
and  drilled  for  fighting  as  minute-men,  who 
were  to  be  ready  to  march  in  the  time  of  danger 
at  a  minute's  warning;." 


176  HISTORY    OF 

"  These  were  busy  times  in  America." 
"Yes,  indeed.  And  at  this  time,  you  must 
recollect,  the  people  were  without  any  regular 
form  of  government.  They  had  no  Assembly, 
no  governor,  and  no  courts  of  law.  They  did 
not  acknowledge  the  king's  authority,  and,  of 
course,  all  the  courts  were  broken  up.  And  I 
wish  you  to  remember,  children,  that,  had  it  not 
been  for  the  sober  and  religious  habits  of  the 
large  body  of  the  people,  the  whole  country 
would  have  been  in  a  state  of  anarchy  and  con- 
fusion. Many  of  the  leading  men  of  that  day 
were  men  of  religious  principle,  who  felt  the  so- 
lemnities of  their  responsibilities,  and  who  looked 
up  for  divine  aid  from  the  hand  of  that  Provi- 
dence who  guides  and  controls  the  affairs  of  na- 
tions as  well  as  of  individuals. 

"  The  General  Congress  which  met  in  May, 
1775,  had  advised  the  people  in  New-Hamp- 
shire to  cause  men  to  be  chosen  throughout  the 
colony,  who  should  meet  and  make  laws  for  the 
government  of  the  colony  until  the  dispute  be- 
tween England  and  America  was  ended.  They 
took  this  advice  of  the  Congress,  and  men  were 
chosen  from  all  parts  of  the  state.  They  selected 
from  their  number  twelve,  whom  they  called  the 
Council^  and  the  Committee  of  Safety,  which 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  177 

had  been  appointed  before  to  manage  affairs, 
was  still  continued.  The  president  of  the  coun- 
cil was  an  old  and  tried  friend  of  the  province, 
whom  the  people  all  esteemed  and  loved.  He 
was  Mesheck  Weare.  And  now,  Charles,  if 
you  will  get  up  on  the  chair  and  reach  me  that 
old  book  from  the  shelf,  marked  Laws  for  the 
American  Colonies  upon  the  back,  I  will  show 
you  whaL  Mesheck  Weare  and  those  other  men 
did." 

"  Here  is  the  book,  sir." 

"  Thank  you ;  and  here  is  what  these  men 
said.  '  We  find  ourselves  reduced  to  the  necessi- 
ty of  establishing  a  form  of  government,  to  con- 
tinue during  the  present  unhappy  and  unnatural 
contest  with  Great  Britain,  declaring  that  we 
never  sought  to  throw  off  our  dependence  on 
Great  Britain,  but  felt  ourselves  happy  under  her 
protection  whilst  we  could  enjoy  our  rights  and 
privileges  ;  and  we  shall  rejoice  if  such  a  recon- 
ciliation between  us  and  our  parent  state  can  be 
made  as  shall  be  approved  by  the  Continental  Con- 
gress, in  whose  prudence  and  wisdom  we  trust.9  ' 

"  Well,  Uncle  Philip,  that  shows  the  truth  of 
what  has  been  said,  that  the  colonies  did  not  de- 
sire to  break  off  from  England,  but  were  really 
compelled  to  do  so  or  submit  to  be  slaves." 
ii.— 14 


178  HISTORY    OF 

"  Yes,  my  children ;  the  conduct  of  the  British 
king  and  Parliament  was  such  now  that  it  was 
impossible  to  hope  for  reconciliation.  Blood  had 
been  spilled,  towns  destroyed,  citizens  murdered, 
commerce  ruined,  and,  indeed,  every  honourable 
and  just  feeling  outraged.  Peace  could  not  be 
obtained  without  disgrace,  and,  thank  God,  on 
such  terms  the  American  people  would  not  ac- 
cept of  peace. 

"  The  Congress  of  1776  was  now  in  session. 
In  June  of  that  same  year,  a  committee  was  ap- 
pointed in  the  New-Hampshire  Assembly  to 
draw  up  a  Declaration  of  INDEPENDENCE  for  the 
United  Colonies,  to  be  sent  to  the  delegates  of 
that  state  then  in  Congress.  So  you  see  that 
the  minds  of  the  people  in  this  state  were  al- 
ready turned  towards  Congress,  waiting  for  def- 
inite and  decided  action." 

"  The  New-Hampshire  people  were  ready  for 
the  declaration,  sir." 

"  Yes  ;  and,  when  it  was  made,  they  received 
it  with  great  joy.  Within  fourteen  days  from 
the  time  it  was  first  published  from  the  steps  of 
Independence  Hall  in  Philadelphia,  it  was  read 
by  beat  of  drum  in  all  the  principal  towns  in 
New-Hampshire. 

"The  only  question  now  was,  whether  we 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  179 

should  be  conquered  provinces,  or  free  and  inde- 
pendent states.  Men  could  easily  decide  which 
they  would  prefer ;  and  you  know,  children,  how 
triumphantly  the  battle-cry  rung  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  Liberty  or  Death. 

"  It  is  amusing  to  hear  some  of  the  old  soldiers 
of  the  Revolution  tell  how  warm  the  spirit  of 
independence  was  at  that  time.  One  effect  of 
the  declaration  was  exhibited  in  an  open  hatred 
of  everything  which  bore  the  name  and  marks 
of  royalty.  Signboards  on  which  were  painted 
the  king's  arms,  or  the  crown  and  sceptre,  or  the 
portraits  of  any  of  the  members  of  the  royal 
family,  were  either  pulled  down  or  defaced. 
Pictures  of  the  same  kind  in  private  houses  were 
concealed,  or  turned  bottom  side  up.  The  names 
of  streets  in  the  large  towns,  which  had  been 
called  after  the  king  or  queen,  were  changed ; 
and  the  halfpence,  which  bore  the  name  of 
George  the  Third,  were  either  refused  in  pay- 
ment, or  degraded  into  farthings. 

"  These  were  small  matters,  boys,  but  they 
showed  the  force  of  the  people's  attachment  to 
liberty. 

"  And  now,  Charles,  you  may  see,  if  you 
please,  the  names  of  those  delegates  in  Con- 


180  HISTORY    OF 

gress  from  New-Hampshire  who  signed  the  Dec- 
laration of  Independence." 

"  Well,  sir,  there  were  Josiah  Bartlett,  and 
Matthew  Thornton,  and  Mr.  Whipple." 

"  Yes,  Charles,  Mr.  William  Whipple.  These 
three  men  were  the  representatives  of  New- 
Hampshire  in  the  Continental  Congress  of  1776, 
and  they  subscribed,  with  their  brethren  from  the 
other  provinces,  the  declaration  which  asserted 
our  freedom. 

"  To-morrow  I  shall  have  a  little  more  to  say 
respecting  these  men,  and  then  we  have  done 
with  the  history  of  New-Hampshire.  Good-by." 

"  Good-by,  Uncle  Philip." 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  181 


CONVERSATION  XI. 

Uncle  Philip  tells  the  Children  about  Mr.  Bartlett,  Mr.  Thorn- 
ton, and  Mr.  Whipple,  the  Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence. 

"  UNCLE  PHILIP,  are  there  any  as  great  men 
in  our  country  now  as  there  were  in  the  times  of 
which  we  are  talking  ?" 

"  Well,  my  lad,  that  is  rather  a  singular  ques- 
tion. Why  do  you  ask  it "?" 

"  Because,  sir,  Thomas  said,  as  we  were  going 
home  yesterday,  that  Washington  was  the  great- 
est man  that  ever  lived.  And  then  he  said  there 
was  Samuel  Adams,  and  Dr.  Warren,  and  Gen- 
eral Stark,  and  General  Putnam,  and  Patrick 
Henry,  and  a  great  many  other  men  about  whom 
you  have  told  us,  who  were  greater  men  than 
any  who  live  in  our  day." 

"  And  what  did  you  say  to  that,  Charles  ?" 

"  Why,  sir,  I  told  him  that  I  thought  General 
Washington  was  one  of  the  greatest  and  best 
men  of  whom  I  ever  heard,  and  that  these 
other  men  were  all  great  j  but,  if  our  country 
was  in  the  same  danger  now,  we  should  have 

VOL.    II.- 


182  HISTORY    OF 

great  men  who  would  stand  up  as  boldly,  and  as 
strongly  too,  as  these  men  did  for  liberty." 

"Very  well:  it  is  true  that  great  occasions 
make  great  men.  I  believe  that  some  of  our 
Revolutionary  heroes  were  as  noble  men  as  ever 
lived.  They  were  entirely  willing  to  peril  life, 
and  property,  and  honour,  and  everything  which 
a  good  man  holds  sacred  and  dear,  in  the  cause 
of  their  country.  They  sought  no  concealment 
of  their  principles;  they  asked  no  disguise  for 
their  sentiments;  openly  and  before  the  world, 
in  the  face  of  a  formidable  army  collected  on 
our  coasts  and  ready  to  invade  us,  they  shook 
off  the  thraldom  of  a  corrupt  government,  and 
declared  for  freedom.  When  Charles  Carroll 
signed  the  declaration,  one  who  was  standing  by 
him  said  to  him  that  he  would  be  likely  to  es- 
cape if  the  British  caught  the  rest  of  them  and 
hung  them  up,  because  the  family  of  Carrolls  in 
Maryland  was  large,  and  there  were  a  number 
of  the  same  name  ;  he  immediately  took  up  the 
pen  again,  and  added  to  his  name  of  Carrollton, 
saying  that  now  the  king  would  know  who  was 
the  person  to  be  hung,  if  he  could  get  a  chance 
to  fasten  the  rope." 

"  And  that,  Uncle  Philip,  is  the  reason  that 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  183 

he  signed  his  name  and  place  of  residence  in 
full.  Well,  sir,  he  was  a  bold  and  noble  man." 

"  And  you  must  recollect,  children,  that  at  that 
time  the  danger  of  signing  that  paper  was  by  no 
means  slight.  We  were  a  young  nation,  scatter- 
ed and  poor,  without  arms  and  ammunition,  and 
unaccustomed  to  such  warfare  as  was  likely  to 
follow  the  doings  of  that  day.  The  nation 
against  whom  we  took  up  arms  was  powerful, 
and  had  vast  means  at  command.  They  had 
fleets  upon  the  seas,  and  soldiers  trained  to  war, 
and  money  to  buy  the  services  of  thousands  more. 
The  talk  of  danger  was  no  idle  and  light  thing, 
I  assure  you." 

"  Uncle  Philip,  it  would  almost  seem  that 
these  men  were  rash  and  hasty  in  what  they 
did." 

"True,  it  would;  but  they  had  counted  the 
cost.  They  were  resolved  to  incur  the  danger, 
and  pay  the  sacrifice  of  life  if  there  were  need. 

"  But  I  was  to  tell  you  something  about  the 
men  who  signed  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence from  New-Hampshire.  Charles,  who  was 
the  first  you  named  T' 

"  Josiah  Bartlett,  sir." 

"  Mr.  Bartlett  was  born  in  Massachusetts,  in 
the  town  of  Ame.sbury.  Like  most  New-Eng- 


184  HISTORY    OF 

land  boys,  his  education  was  carefully  provided 
for.  He  was  instructed  by  Dr.  Webster  of  his 
native  town,  a  clergyman  of  distinguished  talents 
in  his  day,  and  a  good  scholar.  Mr.  Bartlett 
studied  his  profession  in  the  same  place,  and, 
when  ready  to  commence  practice,  removed  to 
Kingston,  in  New-Hampshire." 

"  Was  he  a  lawyer,  Uncle  Philip  V'  '• 

"No,  he  was  a  physician.  After  his  remo- 
val to  Kingston,  he  soon  became  known  as  a 
young  man  of  sound  mind  and  good  principles. 
In  his  profession  he  gained  some  distinction,  and 
gave  promise  of  considerable  eminence.  But 
Dr.  Bartlett  did  not  long  confine  himself  to 
the  field  of  labour  into  which  he  had  entered. 
The  state  of  party  politics  at  that  time  was 
such  as  soon  to  draw  within  their  influence  men 
like  him.  He  soon  became  engaged  as  a  politi- 
cian, and  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  New 
Hampshire  Legislature. 

"  John  Wentworth  was  the  governor  of  the 
state  at  that  time,  and  the  spirit  of  opposition  to 
the  measures  of  the  government  had  begun  to 
show  itself." 

"Was  he  a  friend  of  Governor  Wentworth, 
sir1?" 

**  No ;  he  opposed  the  measures  of  the  gov- 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  185 

ernor,  and  had  strength  of  principle  sufficient  to 
enable  him  to  resist  all  offers  of  royal  favour. 
The  governor  was  desirous  of  attaching  him  to 
the  interests  of  the  king  and  Parliament,  and, 
for  this  purpose,  appointed  him  to  the  office  of 
justice  of  the  peace ;  but  he  still  remained  firm 
to  the  liberty  of  the  colonies,  and  opposed  the 
governor  in  all  his  measures  which  were  likely  to 
prevent  or  endanger  that  liberty." 

"  Uncle  Philip,  was  Mr.  Bartlett  a  member  of 
the  Congress  of  1774  !" 

"  He  was  chosen  as  a  delegate  from  New- 
Hampshire,  but  circumstances  detained  him  at 
home.  In  1775  and  1776  he  was  there,  and 
took  an  active  part  in  all  the  doings  of  that 
body.  When  the  vote  on  the  question  of  a  dec- 
laration of  independence  was  taken,  the  mem- 
bers were  called  upon  in  order,  beginning  with 
the  delegates  from  the  most  northern  colony. 
Dr.  Bartlett  was  therefore  first  called  upon  for 
his  opinion,  and  gave  the  first  vote  in  favour  of 
the  resolution. 

"  Dr.  Bartlett  continued  to  be  a  member  of 
the  Continental  Congress  till  1779,  when  he  was 
appointed  chief-justice  of  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas  in  New-Hampshire,  and  a  few  years  after- 
ward was  honoured  with  the  office  of  chief-jus- 
Q2 


186  HISTORY    OF 

tice  of  the  Supreme  Court.  After  the  war  of 
the  Revolution  closed,  he  was  chosen  governor 
of  New-Hampshire.  This  office  he  filled  with 
his  usual  fidelity  until  his  failing  health  obliged 
him  to  resign ;  and  in  1794  he  sought,  for  the 
remainder  of  his  days,  the  repose  of  private  life. 
But  this  rest,  after  the  toils  and  struggles  which 
he  had  long  endured  for  the  good  of  his  coun- 
try, was  destined  to  be  short.  In  May  of  the 
next  year  he  closed  his  earthly  career,  in  the 
sixty-sixth  year  of  his  age,  and  ripe  in  the  con- 
fidence and  respect  of  good  men. 

"  We  next  come  to  Mr.  William  Whipple. 
He  was  born  in  Kittery,  a  town  now  embraced 
in  the  State  of  Maine." 

"  Yes,  yes,  Uncle  Philip,  we  talked  about  the 
settlement  of  that  town." 

"  Mr.  Whipple  received  a  respectable  educa- 
tion in  his  native  place,  and,  on  leaving  school, 
he  entered  on  board  a  merchant  vessel,  and  for 
several  years  devoted  himself  to  commercial  busi- 
ness on  the  sea.  He  traded  chiefly  to  the  West 
Indies,  and  acquired  a  respectable  fortune. 

"  In  1759  he  left  the  sea  and  settled  at  Ports- 
mouth. When  the  difficulties  between  England 
and  the  colonies  broke  out,  he  engaged  in  them 
with  spirit,  and  became  an  ardent  friend  of  inde- 


NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  187 

pendence.  He  was  greatly  respected  by  his 
townsmen  for  his  honesty  of  character  as  well  as 
for  his  talents.  He  was  first  appointed  a  dele- 
gate to  the  Continental  Congress  in  1776. 

"  Here  he  made  himself  very  useful  by  his  ac- 
tivity and  thorough  business  habits.  In  the 
course  of  the  war  he  was  made  a  brigadier-gen- 
eral, at  the  same  time  that  the  celebrated  John 
Stark  received  his  commission  to  the  same  office. 

"After  the  war,  Mr.  Whipple  was- more  or 
less  employed  in  public  life,  and  was  always  a 
faithful  and  useful  servant  of  the  people.  Du- 
ring the  two  or  three  years  before  his  death  he 
held  the  office  of  judge  in  the  Superior  Court, 
and  died  in  1785,  in  the  fifty-fifth  year  of  his  age. 

"  It  is  said  of  him  '  that  few  men  have  exhib- 
ited a  more  honest  and  persevering  ambition  to 
act  a  worthy  part  in  community,  and  few,  with 
his  advantages,  have  been  more  successful  in  ob- 
taining the  object  of  their  ambition.' 

"  The  other  signer  of  the  Declaration  from 
New-Hampshire  was  Matthew  Thornton.  He 
was  born  in  Ireland.  "When  he  was  two  or  three 
years  of  age,  his  father  brought  him  to  America. 
Young  Thornton  studied  medicine,  and  commen- 
ced the  practice  of  his  profession  in  London- 
derry." 


188  HISTORY    OF 

"  Uncle  Philip,  that  was  the  place  where  the 
people  who  came  over  from  the  north  of  Ireland 
had  settled." 

"  Yes ;  and  that  might  have  been  one  reason 
why  Dr.  Thornton  chose  that  place  to  commence 
practice.  You  recollect,  children,  the  expedi- 
tion against  Cape  Breton,  and  the  capture  of 
Louisburg "?" 

«  Yes,  Uncle  Philip." 

"  In  that  expedition  five  hundred  men  from 
New-Hampshire  were  employed,  as  I  told  you 
before.  Dr.  Thornton  was  chosen  to  go  with 
these  men  as  surgeon,  and  thus  took  an  early 
part  in  the  defence  of  his  country.  He  after- 
ward held  a  commission  as  colonel  in  the  mili- 
tia under  the  royal  "government.  But  when  the 
colonies  resolved  no  longer  to  submit  to  the  in- 
justice and  oppression  of  the  English  king  and 
Parliament,  Thornton,  with  the  true  patriotic 
spirit,  stood  up  for  the  glorious  cause  of  liberty. 
"  Dr.  Thornton  was  a  true  friend  of  the  colo- 
nies, and,  like  his  fellow-patriots,  was  ready  to 
sacrifice  all  personal  interests  to  the  good  of  his 
country.  He  was  elected  to  the  Continental 
Congress  in  the  fall  of  the  year  1776." 

"  But,  Uncle  Philip,  that  was  after  the  Decla- 
ration of  Independence  was  made." 


NEW-HAMP.SHlttE.  189 

"  Very  trae  ;  but,  after  he  became  a  membet 
of  the  Congress,  he  placed  his  name  to  the  dec- 
laration which  had  been  previously  signed  by  the 
others. 

"  After  this  he  was  appointed  a  judge  also  of 
the  New-Hampshire  courts,  and  died  at  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  eighty-nine.  He  was  an  honoured 
and  faithful  man  in  his  day ;  virtuous  and  up- 
right in  his  conduct,  and  lamented  in  his  death. 

"  Such,  my  dear  children,  is  a  brief  sketch 
of  the  lives  of  the  three  men  selected  by  New- 
Hampshire  to  represent  her  in  the  Congress  of 
1776,  and  whose  names  are  affixed  to  the  bold 
and  ever  memorable  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence." 


THE    END. 


